The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has grounded Arik Airline aircraft following a court order over a $2.5 million debt owed to Atlas Petroleum International Ltd. This action was disclosed in a statement by NAMA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Abdullahi Musa, on Tuesday.
The enforcement action stems from a Federal Capital Territory High Court order issued on July 19, 2024, which involved attaching Arik’s planes to secure the debt. “On the 19th day of July 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 Atlas Petroleum International Ltd. by attaching their aircraft,” the statement read.
Arik was given a notice of public auction of the planes scheduled for July 26, 2024, if the debt remained unpaid. The legal battle dates back to March 8, 2016, when the Lagos State High Court entered judgment against Arik Airline. Despite appealing, the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal on September 30, 2021, and further attempts to appeal to the Supreme Court were dismissed on January 9, 2024.
Following these legal proceedings, the judgment creditor registered the judgment in the FCT High Court, and on June 26, 2024, Honorable Justice O. A. Adeniyi ordered the attachment of Arik’s movable properties, including several aircraft. “Copies of the Order and Certificate of Judgment were also served on us and the Minister,” NAMA noted.
While Arik Airline has since obtained an ex-parte order stopping further execution, NAMA has yet to be formally served. In response, NAMA has decided to ground the aircraft to preserve the subject matter of the dispute. “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,” the statement said.
NAMA urged the disputing parties to resolve their issues swiftly to allow the grounded Arik aircraft to resume operations. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) announced measures to assist passengers affected by the grounding of Arik Airline. In a statement, FAAN acknowledged the situation and instructed all airport managers to assist affected passengers as Arik works on rebooking and transferring them to other flights.
