Court Orders Seizure of Emirates Aircraft over N8.1M Judgment Debt

Ololade Adeyanju/

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the seizure of an aircraft belonging to Emirates Airlines over a N8.1 million judgment debt.

Justice Mohammed Liman said the pronouncement was a sequel to a motion filed by Dr. Charles Mekwunye seeking the enforcement of a Supreme Court judgment in a suit between Promise Mekwunye and the airline.

The judge ruled: “It is accordingly ordered that an attachment is hereby issued on the judgment debtor’s aircraft registered as ‘A6 Aircraft Type 77W EK: 783/784’, or any other aircraft belonging to the judgment debtor which flies into Nigerian territory, to be arrested and detained until the judgment debt is fully paid.

“In default after 30 days, the aircraft shall be auctioned to satisfy the judgment debt.”

Justice Liman held that the airline would bear the cost of maintenance and custody of the detained plane.

Mekwunye, who was a student of North Texas University, Denton, Texas USA, had in 2008 sued the airline for refusal of boarding of her two-way flight ticket from Dallas to Nigeria and back for “no reason and for further refusing to fully refund the cost of the ticket to Nigeria.”