On Monday, the Federal High Court in Lagos State annulled the sale of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ruled that the sale was null and void and ordered the Federal Government to halt its plans to establish Nigeria Air as a national carrier.
The court’s decision came in favor of the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five other aviation industry stakeholders.
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Justice Lewis-Allagoa granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs, except for a claim of N2 billion in damages.
The plaintiffs include the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited.
The defendants in the case were Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, former Minister of Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika, the Federal Ministry of Aviation, and former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami.
The plaintiffs sought to annul the entire bidding and selection process for Nigeria Air and to overturn the approval and selection of Ethiopian Airlines.
