The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that Ethiopian Airlines was not competent to bid for Nigeria Air, the proposed national carrier project of Nigeria. The court also ordered the payment of N2 billion in damages to the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and other plaintiffs for the harm they suffered due to their wrongful exclusion from the bidding process.
In a judgment delivered by Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa, the court stated that Ethiopian Airlines did not meet the necessary conditions under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the Security and Exchange Commission Nigeria Consolidated Rules and Regulations 2013 (as amended in 2022). The court found that the sale of the planned airline to Ethiopian Airlines violated several Nigerian laws, including the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Act, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) convention, the Civil Aviation Act, and the Public Procurement Act, among others.
The plaintiffs in the case included the registered trustees of AON, Azman Air Service Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company, and Top Brass Aviation Limited, while the defendants were Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, former Minister of Aviation Sen. Hadi Sirika, and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The court ruled that Ethiopian Airlines and its consortium had not met the pre-qualification requirements necessary to bid for shares in the Nigeria Air project. A perpetual injunction was issued, preventing the defendants from continuing or transferring the operations of Nigeria Air to Ethiopian Airlines.
Furthermore, the court declared the issuance of an Air Transport License (ATL) by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as null and void. The judge emphasized that the bidding process was in violation of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Act, which requires the process to be advertised in at least three national newspapers—a requirement that was not met.
This ruling underscores the importance of adherence to proper legal and regulatory frameworks in public-private partnership projects in Nigeria.
