Minister Accused Of “Nigeria Air” Fraud (Video)
Nigeria’s aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, has been accused of fraudulent activity by presenting a rented and hastily repainted Boeing 737-800 from Ethiopian Airlines as an aircraft belonging to the phantom “Nigeria Air.”
Evidence from Nigerian born journalist, David Hundeyin reveals that the aircraft, bearing the registration number ET-APL, is clearly owned by Ethiopian Airlines and is still in active service.
The journalist pointed out that the minister, through misrepresentation, intended to commission the aircraft as part of the Nigeria Air project, which raises questions about the ownership and technical agreement between Ethiopian Airlines and Nigeria Air.
The incident has sparked controversy and demands for answers regarding the billions of naira spent on the project and the minister’s actions.
The aircraft took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at 9:55am on Friday and landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 12:43 p.m.
The plane has now landed in Abuja, but attempts to conceal its registration number have raised further suspicions surrounding the situation.
showed that the aircraft flew for its original airline up till Sunday. It embarked on a trip from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv in Israel, according to the flight history.
Flightradar, the popular flight tracking website, said the aircraft operated between Tel Aviv and Mogadishu, Somalia, still on May 21, 2023.
On May 20, it operated both Mogadishu in Somalia and Beirut on while the previous day it also served Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
Ethiopian Airlines is the majority shareholder in Nigeria Air project. It has a 49% stake, a structure which made domestic airlines under the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) file a suit against the Federal Government.
