Court Allows Repossession Of Arik Air’s CRJ1000

Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has granted Export Development Canada (EDC), a Canadian financial institution, the right to repossess and teardown the controversial CRJ1000 aircraft with registration number 5N-JEE from Arik Air’s fleet.

The court also stopped men and officers of the respondent (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) from harassing, threatening, intimidating, detaining and threatening to arrest the applicants or its contractor over the discharge of their lawful civil obligations to take custody, control and teardown of the aircraft.

These were contained in a certified true copy of a judgment delivered by Justice Alexander Oluseyi Owoeye on November 27, 2024, in a suit number: FHC/L/CS/1141/2024 between Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, Captain Isiaka Oyeshina Akinfenwa (applicants) Vs Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as respondent, obtained by Daily Independent Newspaper.

This Federal High Court judgment is coming barely 18 months after the issue first came to the public knowledge when some of the shareholders of Arik Air, using the EFCC, prevented the original owner of the aircraft from repossessing it.

Chris Amokwu, an aviation expert, has also said that compliance with Nigeria to the court judgment would go a long way in determining the country’s compliance with the Cape Town Convention on aircraft leasing, which it recently signed.

The court in its judgment declared that the acts by the men and officers of the respondent of arresting, harassing, threatening, questioning, intimidating, detaining and threatening to arrest and detain the applicants over the discharge of their lawful civil obligation to take custody of the aircraft with the Manufacturer’s Serial Number (MSN)’ 19037 for the onward shipment and disposal constituted a violation of the applicants’ fundamental rights under the Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The court also said that these infractions constituted a violation of the applicants’ Fundamental Rights to liberty under Sections 35 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act, Cap A9, Volume 1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The court’s judgment further stated that the exhibit presented to the EFCC to investigate by the owners of Arik Air did not cover the CRJ1000 aircraft.

Rather, it said the exhibit presented to EFCC covered only the sale and teardown of another aircraft; CRJ900 MSN 15058 with the registration number 5N-JEA, valued at $31,000,000.00 and Boeing 737-700 with the MSN number 23640 and registration number: 5N-MJI valued at $47,000,000.00, which were sad to be “destroyed and sold without owner’s consent and regulatory approval.”

Besides, the court awarded the sum of N5 million as damages against the respondent for the infringement and threatened infringement of the applicants’ rights to dignity of the human person and personal liberty over the discharge of their lawful civil obligations to take custody and control, and teardown the Canadian aircraft.