The FG has lifted the suspension on Arik Air operations, allowing the airline to resume services. Learn more about the decision and its impact.
The disagreement between Atlas Petroleum and Arik Air that caused the suspension of airline services has been settled.
The Federal Government has lifted the suspension on Arik Air’s operations one week after its planes were grounded.
On Wednesday, a statement on X revealed that Michael Achimugu, who serves as the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), made an announcement.
According to him, the conflict between Atlas Petroleum and Arik Air that led to a halt in airline services has been settled.
“The impasse between Arik Air and Atlas Petroleum has been successfully resolved by Festus Keyamo SAN, the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, along with Capt. Chris Najomo, DG of NCAA,” he announced.
Starting today, Arik Air shall initiate operations in alignment with this resolution. Ensuring the safety and security of all air travelers remains the topmost concern for both the Minister as well as NCAA. As we speak, scheduled flights by Arik Air are being checked-in by passengers.
A directive from Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development on June 30th resulted in an immediate suspension of Arik Air’s aircraft operations.
No reason was provided by the minister as to why the airline operations were grounded.
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) clarified that the reason for their action was due to an order from FCT High Court enforcement department regarding a debt of $2.5m owed by Arik to Atlas Petroleum International Ltd.
According to the statement, on July 19th, 2024, the enforcement department of FCT High Court executed a court order that required Arik Airline to pay off their debt of $2.5 million owed to Atlas Petroleum International Ltd. The airline’s aircraft were seized as part of this process and they were informed about a public auction scheduled for July 26th if they didn’t make payment by then. Both our agency and Minister of Aviation received notice regarding these events.
According to the records, ARIK (the Judgment Debtor) lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeal on March 8th, 2016 challenging the High Court of Lagos State’s judgment against it. On September 30th, 2021, following a unanimous verdict and at its own expense costs awarded against it were dismissed by The Court of Appeal.
On January 9, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled against ARIK’s appeal for permission to challenge the decision made by the Court of Appeal. The application submitted by the Judgment Debtor was rejected in a ruling delivered by Justice Okoro from the bench.
On June 26, 2024, the Honorable Justice O.A. Adeniyi presiding in Court 8 of Maitama, Abuja heard Motion No: M/9785/2024 filed by Atlas Petroleum and issued an order attaching all moveable properties owned by the Judgment Debtor as well as their aircraft with Registration No: B737-700/5N-MJF, B737-800 /5N-MJQ DASH8-Q400 and 5N-BKX to cover the judgment debt amount owed after registration of The Lagos State High Court’s Judgment at FCT’s High Court. This notice included copies served on both us and the Minister for our records.
Arik has acquired an exparte order to halt the execution of another order, but we have not received formal notification. Therefore, as the first enforcement involved seizing the aircraft and further action such as selling it can be put on hold until both parties return to court for resolution. However, in preserving the disputed plane – which has already been seized (the res) -we will comply with Supreme Court orders by grounding them so that they are within jurisdictional boundaries and there is no interference that may undermine judicial proceedings.
Moreover, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a member of the Inner Bar, the Minister comprehends the significance of the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the request for leave to appeal. Therefore, he would not jeopardize his legal practitioner license or his privileges by partaking in activities that could hinder an order issued by Nigeria’s highest court.
A prompt resolution of their issues is highly encouraged among the disputing parties to enable resumption of flight operations for the specific Arik aircraft.
