NAMA: Arik Air Grounded Over Court Order On $2.5m Debt

July 30, 2024

4 minute read

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), on Tuesday, explained that the grounding of Arik Air operations was due to a subsisting court order from the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of NAMA, Abdullahi Musa, said that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, being a member of the Inner Bar himself understood the implication of the Supreme Court Order dismissing the motion for leave to appeal and would not risk his license as a legal practitioner or his privilege as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria by engaging in acts that would frustrate an order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Part of the statement reads: “The records show that on the 8th day of March 2016, the Judgment Debtor (ARIK) appealed the decision of the High Court of Lagos State entering judgment against it to the Court of Appeal and on 30th September 2021, the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision with cost.

“ARIK again appealed to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal, and on the 9th day of January 2024, the Supreme Court, per Okoro, J.S.C., delivered its Ruling dismissing the Judgment Debtor’s application for leave to appeal.

Musa said that on July 19, 2024, “the enforcement department of the FCT High Court enforced an Order made by the Court regarding a debt of $2.5 million owed by Arik Airline to one Atlas Petroleum International Ltd by attaching their aircraft.

“Arik was further given a notice of a Public Auction of the planes by the Court which was slated to be held on the 26th day of July 2024 if they fail to pay the judgment debt. All these were served on our agency and also on our supervising minister, the Minister of Aviation.

“The records show that on the 8th day of March 2016, the Judgment Debtor (ARIK) appealed the decision of the High Court of Lagos State entering judgment against it to the Court of Appeal and on 30th September 2021, the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision with cost.

“The Judgment Creditor registered the Judgment of the Lagos State High Court in The High Court of FCT and On the 26th day of June 2024, Honorable Justice O. A. Adeniyi, then sitting in Court 8, Maitama, Abuja) made an order after hearing Motion No: M/9785/2024 filed on behalf of Atlas Petroleum attaching all the moveable properties belonging to the Judgment Debtor, including the Judgment Debtor’s aircraft with Registration No: B737-700/ 5N-MJF, B737-800/ 5N-MJQ, DASH8-Q400 and 5N-BKX in satisfaction of the judgment debt. Copies of the Order and Certificate of Judgment were also served on us and the minister.

“We understand too that Arik has obtained an exparte order stopping FURTHER EXECUTION of the order, though we have not been formally served. In the circumstances, since the first execution took place by attaching the aircraft, further execution by way of sale can be halted whilst the parties go back to court to resolve the issues.

“However, in order to preserve the subject matter of the present dispute which are the aircraft in question (the res), which have already been attached, we have decided to comply with the effect of the Supreme Court order, by grounding the aircraft (subject of dispute) so that they are not taken out of the jurisdiction of the court or tampered with in a way as to frustrate the courts.”