The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday declared null and void the sale of Nigeria Air Ltd to Ethiopian Airlines. In his judgment, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ordered that the proposed establishment of a national carrier, Nigeria Air, by the Federal Government should not proceed.

The ruling came as the court granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs, the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and five other aviation industry entities. Justice Lewis-Allagoa upheld all the plaintiffs’ reliefs except the request for ₦2 billion in damages for the alleged wrongful exclusion and the flawed bidding and selection processes for the Nigeria Air project.

The plaintiffs in the suit included the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited. They filed the case against Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, former Minister of Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika, the Federal Ministry of Aviation, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The plaintiffs had requested the court to set aside the entire bidding and selection process for the Nigeria Air project and to nullify the approval, grant, or selection of Ethiopian Airlines by the former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika and the former Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami.