Airline operators on Sunday announced that they have “acceded” to appeals from the government to withdraw plans to suspend operations from Monday (today) over high cost of jet fuel and other operational costs.

The information was conveyed in a letter signed by Serina Abdulmunaf, president, Airline Operators Association, and jointly signed by the chief executive officers of six domestic airline operators.

“…the AON has acceded to requests to withdraw the action for the time being while we allow for a fresh round of dialogue with the government in the hope of reaching an amicable solution,” the letter read in part.

Airline operators had on Friday in a letter addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said they would halt operations from Monday, amidst an astronomical increase in aviation fuel.

In reaction to the letter, Sirika pleaded with the airlines to suspend their planned shutdown of operations over the increase of cost of aviation fuel from N190 to N700 per litre.

Following the move, four airlines separately pulled out of the plan and said they would continue their operations. The airlines are Ibom Air, Arik, Air Peace, Aero Contractors and Dana.

On Sunday, AON said all airlines had suspensed the plan and operations will no longer be halted.

“We have also reached this decision with the highest consideration for our esteemed customers who have been faced with uncertainty over the last few days and to enable them to have access to travel to their various destinations for the time being during the period of discussions with relevant authorities,” the airlines said.

Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Sa’ad Abubakar III, has declared that the orphans of insurgency are his children.

Abubakar made the declaration on Saturday, at the Eid-el-fitr lunch organised for the students of UK Jarma Academy in Sokoto State.

The school, which was initiated by a Sokoto-based Philanthropist, Umarun Kwabo, has 171 Orphans from Borno, Yobe and Sokoto states.

They include 117 orphans from Borno, 21 from Yobe and 33 from Sokoto, being sponsored by the philanthropist to acquire their education to tertiary institution.

According to the Sultan, the children are no longer orphans because he is their father.

“We will continue to ensure that these children are living comfortably, we are their parents and they are our children,” he said.

Abubakar also called on scholars to sustain more enlightenment on the need for the society to support orphans.

“The gesture, if properly sustained by our society, will drastically reduce the ugly situation of rampant begging across our domain,” he said.

The Sultan appreciated the sponsor of the children, Sokoto State Government and others, to continue to support the initiative.

He appealed for a sustainable prayer by Nigerians for peace, unity and progress in the country. Governor Aminu Tambuwal, represented by his Deputy, Munir Dan’iya, reassured of his administration’s commitment in supporting orphans.

He thanked Kwabo for sustaining the initiative and appealed to other personalities to emulate the gesture, considering its abundant reward from the Almighty Allah.

Earlier, the school proprietor, said the gesture was part of his commitment to encourage the society to support orphans across the country.

“This initiative is a massage to all Nigerians. I am sure no matter how little, one can assist to reduce the burden of a single orphan within the society,” Kwabo said.

Also, Mohammed Maidoki, Chairman, UK Jarma Management Board, thanked the sponsor for taking the children’s responsibility to tertiary institution.

Maidoki said that they had since engaged in various skill acquisition programmes which included tailoring, phone repairs and knitting.

Residents of Bakura Local Government of Zamfara State said no fewer than 56 people were killed on Friday afternoon when bandits attacked three villages in the area, Premium Times has reported.

A former councilor, who asked not to be named, told reporter that the gunmen attacked Sabon Garin Damri, of the villages, around 2:30 p.m.

“I was in the main town when the bandits entered Sabon Garin Damri. We suddenly saw people running towards us. Then we started hearing sporadic gunshots. I was miraculously saved,” he said.

He said the bandits carried out what appears to be coordinated attacks from Sabon Garin Damri, Damri and Kalahe before a joint security team confronted them.

Another resident, Mu’azu Damri, said the number of casualties would have been more if the security agents didn’t confront the bandits.

“I’ll have to personally applaud them (security agents), though I believe they should have come earlier because if they came at the right time, they would have saved a lot of people. But their arrival helped because the number would have been more than that,” he said

Damri also said the bandits were pursued by the team of soldiers and police personnel, forcing them to abandon the livestock, food items, and other things they had looted from residents.

Though Damri said the number of those killed was 48, other sources, including the former councilor said the number of those killed as at Saturday afternoon was 56

“We counted 56 people,” the councillor said. “In Damri, only three people were killed; a girl and two other men but the remaining were all killed in Sabon Garin Damri and Kalahe. Some of them were not residents of the two communities. They were people who came from nearby villages to celebrate Eid El Fitr with their relatives” he said.

Another resident of Bakura Town, Usman Lauwali, also affirmed that 56 people were confirmed dead by residents of the three communities.

He said those who were wounded were receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Bakura.

Though the Police Command spokesperson in Zamfara, Mohammed Shehu, didn’t respond to calls and SMS sent to him on the attacks, an officer at the command, who asked not to be named because he had not been authorised to speak with journalists confirmed that they were aware of the situation.

“We’re aware but you can wait for an official statement. I know that a strong reinforcement has been sent to Bakura and Talata Mafara axis this morning. The CP may even visit the communities later,” he said.

Zamfara, like in other areas in Nigeria’s Northwest region, is convulsing under the attacks by gunmen locally called bandits who attack mostly rural communities and travellers.

These bandits have been blamed for killing thousands of people. They have also abducted many more in what is shaping to become one of the worst kidnap-for-ransom syndicates in the country’s history.

In the face of the failure of the government to protect residents of the area, many communities have set up vigilante groups to protect residents from attacks by bandits but this has worsened the security challenges in the area as it has given rise to an explosion of tit-for-tat killings between the bandits (who are mostly of Fulani extraction) and the vigilante groups set up by the majority Hausa communities in the area.

Ibom Air on Saturday said it will not take part in an industry plan to stop flights from Monday over the high cost of jet fuel, saying the move would affect revenues needed to service obligations to financiers and suppliers.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria said on Friday that members will stop local flights from Monday until further notice.

Ibom Air, one of the smaller members of the nine airline association, is the first to say it will not participate in grounding flights.

The association said jet fuel has risen to 700 naira ($1.69) per litre in Nigeria from 190 naira over a short period and that the cost of a one-hour flight has more than doubled to N120,000, a price it said was unsustainable.

Ibom Air, backed by Akwa Ibom state, said high jet fuel posed a threat but stopping operations would exacerbate the situation due to obligations and that customers have paid in advance for flights.

In November, Ibom Air signed a firm order for ten Airbus A220 planes at the Dubai Airshow.

The aviation ministry said on Saturday it was concerned about the difficulties and the spiraling air fares due to jet fuel cost but appealed to the airlines to consider the effects of a shutdown on travelers at home and abroad.

A previous threat by the association to stop flights over high costs was averted by government financial assistance.

Separately, Air Peace, Nigeria's biggest carrier by passenger numbers, flying to Dubai and Johannesburg, has warned of flight disruptions due to jet fuel scarcity.

Abdulmumin Jibrin, the Campaign Director General of APC frontline presidential aspirant, Ahmed Tinubu, has left the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.

Jubril who was announced earlier in the year as Tinubu’s campaign DG took to his Twitter handle to announce his decision.

According to the Kano Politician he would be announcing his new party in the next 24 hours.

He tweeted, “I have done my best for APC. Its time to move on. I will announce my new political party within the next 24 hours insha Allah. I will make a formal statement in due course. Abdulmumin Jibrin.”

Recall Jubril had stated his position on a Southern presidency, in an interview with Arise, “I don’t think APC will try to toy around with that matter. I believe confidently that the Presidency is going to the Southern part and, when it goes there, Asiwaju stands out clearly in terms of experience, pedigree and competence and most importantly, the ability to win the election. His gap is quite huge more than anybody else”.

Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) has recovered more than $23 million stolen from Nigeria by the country's late military dictator Sani Abacha, it said on Thursday, the latest in a series of similar recoveries around the world.

Abacha ruled Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, a period during which he stole up to $5 billion of public money, according to Transparency International. He was never charged.

The money recovered in Britain forms part of a larger pool of funds identified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates, the NCA said in a statement.

"The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a safe haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight," said Billy Beattie, Asset Denial Senior Manager at the NCA.

Police say about 100 billion pounds ($123 billion) of dirty cash moves through or into Britain every year, buying everything from luxury homes to whole companies.

Leaked troves of financial documents such as the Panama, Paradise and Pandora Papers have documented London's role as a global money-laundering hub.

The $23 million were recovered after seven years of litigation and international negotiation pursued by the NCA, at the request of the DOJ, the statement said. The funds will be transferred to the DOJ.

An NCA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a query about whether the funds would ultimately return to Nigeria. In the past, countries including the United States and Switzerland have repatriated Abacha loot there.

Barring any urgent intervention, Nigeria’s foremost carrier, Aero Contractors may be on its way out of the skies after over 61 years of flight operations, according to a Thisday report.

With only two aged aircraft, Bombardier Dash 8-300 and Boeing 737-500 in their early 30s and bereft of operating cash, the airline is now on its knees about to shut the door for scheduled services.

Aero Contractors, which provided shuttle service for oil and gas industry for decades and extended its service to scheduled flight operations since 2000 has become moribund with over N50 billion debt overhang.

THISDAY investigations revealed that economic recession occasioned by the Covid-19 lockdown and protracted low season after December heavy passenger traffic demand, culminated to the financial drought of the airline.

It was learnt that currently, the airline finds it difficult to fuel its existing fleet.

Managing Director of the airline, Abdullahi Mahmood in a telephone interview confirmed the precarious state of the airline and identified factors that led to debilitating condition of the indigenous carrier.

Mahmood said that the airline could stop operation at any time because the management is finding it increasingly difficult to keep the aircraft in the airspace.

He said that high cost of foreign exchange, high maintenance cost, high cost of aviation fuel and low traffic are responsible for the bad condition of the airline.

According to him, “Maintenance cost is high, foreign exchange is not available and the high fuel price in addition to the fact that after the high Christmas season, there was low passenger traffic from later January till Easter period. Then we are also contending with overhead, which is so much.

“When you have no traffic and what you are generating cannot defray operating cost, you cannot survive. We are still operating but from the rate we are going we may shut down anytime.”

He also explained that because the aircraft in the fleet are old and breakdown very often, the cost of maintenance is high, “and spares have to be imported and even insuring the aircraft requires foreign exchange.”

When contacted, immediate past CEO of the airline, Ado Sanusi, confirmed that it is very unlikely that the airline would survive, except it urgently acquires new fleet.

Sanusi who took over the airline in February 2017, when it was in comatose said the airline was coming back from shutting down when he began to preside over its affairs.

“The airline had two aircraft, which were due for major checks, the C-check, passenger confidence was low and three of the airline’s aircraft were in maintenance facilities overseas. The airline was at the brink of collapse when we took it over”, he said.

Sanusi further explained that the airline was under receivership, as it was being managed by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), “so what the airline needed was more aircraft, which would enable it to increase revenue.”

The AMCOM had invested so much money in the airline but was not ready to invest more, a situation that lead to Sanusi and his team to consider having the C-check conducted in-house.

“The engineers in the airline went to work, they took the Boeing 737 classic and successfully conducted C-check and received Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) certification from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

“The success of the C-check opened door for us because it restored passenger confidence, knowing that we had the ability to maintain our aircraft and from 40 to 50 per cent load factor, our passenger traffic grew to 80 per cent.

“AMCON was elated that they continued to support us. We sold assets we didn’t need and we brought back one of the three aircraft ferried overseas for maintenance and now had two Boeing and One Bombardier Dash 8. Our revenue rose from N180 million to N2 billion. We did a lot.

“We bought the engines of United Nigeria Airlines Boeing B737-300 aircraft. With our revenue, we revamped the rotary wing of the airline and would have clinched a multimillion-dollar deal with Total for shuttle service but because the airline was under receivership we didn’t. We even went into a strategic partnership with indigenous company to revive the rotary wing and was in that process when Covid-19 came,” Sanusi said.

“The Covid lockdown was the undoing of the airline, like many others in other parts of the world, “Sanusi said, adding, “It was during the lockdown that the Maintenance, Overhaul and Repair (MRO) facility came alive and began to engage in third party maintenance, which is maintenance of other airlines’ aircraft.”

”Immediately after the lockdown we were ready to go into business. Passenger demand was unprecedented. The prospect of Aero was very good. It had a chance to recover, but the biggest challenge was fleet renewal. Average age of the aircraft was late 20s or early 30s. We communicated to the shareholders.

‘We did not have the ability to do D-check, which was heavy check, but we later got approval and we conducted D-check on the Boeing 737 after which we would retire the aircraft, hoping that there would be fleet renewal in order to put the airline as an on-going concern”, Sanusi revealed.

Aero, is described as a fully made airline because it has scheduled operations wing, rotary wing, MRO and training school; no other airline in Nigeria came close.

For the airline to survive some of the workers had to be put on redundancy and at the peak of revival it had about 400 staff, about 100 in schedule wing, 10 in training and the others on administrative and maintenance and whenever it had more jobs on maintenance it recalled more technical staff.

On why the airline was going under, Sanui said, “The airline needs fleet renewal without which it cannot survive. External factors include high cost of aviation fuel, scarcity and high cost of forex, low passenger traffic, which was extraordinarily very low. When I left the airline had a good chance of survival, even coming out of receivership. But it needed strict financial management,” he said.

A former top manager of the airline said that the genesis of Nigeria’s foremost carrier started because of the way it went into scheduled passenger operation, the kind of aircraft it acquired, the age of the aircraft and “When AMCON took it over it did not inject enough fund into the airline. If sufficient funds were injected and the rotary wing was revived it would have survived; although the oil and gas industry was going down at a time when the price of crude crashed. The airline has good people but it needed finance,” he said.

The government of the United Kingdom has made a U-turn on its treatment of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), recognising Nigeria’s classification of the group as a terrorist organisation the Cable has reported. 

In a May 2022 update of its asylum policy, the UK government excluded members of the group from seeking refuge in England.

TheCable had reported in April 2021 that the UK was planning to grant asylum to persecuted members of the separatist group, as part of its refugee policy published at the time.

The policy, at the time, was for asylum to be granted to “persecuted” members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB)”.

The UKVI, a division of the Home Office, directed its decision makers to consider if a person “who actively and openly supports IPOB is likely to be at risk of arrest and detention, and ill-treatment which is likely to amount to persecution”.

If the person can prove persecution, then the IPOB member or supporter could be granted asylum.

UKVI TAKES DOWN POLICY NOTES

A few days after the policy notes were published, the UK government took it down, following complaints from the Nigerian government.

In July 2021, an updated policy on asylum was seen by TheCable, with no clear mention of IPOB, but more emphasis on Nigerians fleeing Boko Haram’s onslaught.

The UK said at the time that it would offer protection to “women, LGBTI persons and non-indigenes” who “may face additional discrimination which prevents them from being able to access effective protection”.

The UK government said Nigerians could now claim asylum in the UK if they face “fear of persecution and/or serious harm by members of Boko Haram because of” their “actual or perceived opposition to the group”.

UKVI RECOGNISES IPOB AS TERRORIST ORGANISATION

In its May 2022 policy update, UKVI referred to IPOB as a terrorist organisation to be excluded from its asylum programme over alleged links to violence in the Southeast.

“IPOB is proscribed as a terrorist group by the Nigerian government, and members of the group and its paramilitary wing – the Eastern Security Network (created in December 2020) – have reportedly committed human rights violations in Nigeria,” UKVI said in its policy notes.

It added that “MASSOB has been banned, but is not a proscribed terrorist group in Nigeria. It too has reportedly been involved in violent clashes with the authorities”.

UKVI went on to tell its decision makers that “if a person has been involved with IPOB (and/or an affiliated group), MASSOB or any other ‘Biafran’ group that incites or uses violence to achieve its aims, decision makers must consider whether one (or more) of the exclusion clauses under the Refugee Convention is applicable.

“Persons who commit human rights violations must not be granted asylum,” the UK added.

The policy brief noted that anyone excluded in this manner is also “excluded from a grant of humanitarian protection”.

UKVI also advised that “decision makers must, however, still consider all claims on an individual basis, taking into account each case’s specific facts”.

Since the last update in July 2021, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB and a UK citizen, has been in the custody of the Nigerian government on the grounds of allegations, including treason.

In its 2022 new year message, the group said the Nigerian national anthem will no longer be sung across schools in the southeast.

Suspected IPOB members were also recently killed by the Nigerian Army in a gun battle on Orlu–Orsu road in April.

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Thursday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and all Igbo youths in detention over the agitation for Biafra.

Ohanaeze President General, George Obiozor, made the call in his opening address at the Imeobi of Ohanaeze meeting held at the Ohanaeze National Secretariat in Enugu.

While expressing optimism that the Igbo nation would come out stronger from the current turmoil, Obiozor said that Ndigbo seeks healing, national unity, and progress on the basis of justice, equity, fairness and a sense of belonging in Nigeria which will start from the release of Igbo youths detained in various cells across the country without trial.

Reacting to the current security situation pervading the region, Ohanaeze PG said that each geo-political zone had its own peculiarities.

According to him, “The advent of insecurity in the Southeast is both bizarre and dramatic. The Southeast had been adjudged the most serene and peaceful zone in Nigeria until April 5, 2021, when gunmen attacked the correctional facility in Owerri, Imo State and freed a total of 1,844 prison inmates.

“Since the April 5 episode, insecurity in the Southeast has attained an unprecedented and unbearable crescendo. In condemning the spate of violence in the Southeast, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide also called attention to the strategic capacity of the local non-state actors to overwhelm a highly fortified correction centre and discharge a total of 1,844 inmates without any arrest.”

Commenting on the 2023 general election, Obiozor urged Igbos wherever they reside in Nigeria to make haste to acquire their Permanent Voter Cards.

“In this connection, I call on the Association of Southeast Town Unions, traditional rulers, the leadership of Ndigbo in Diaspora, religious bodies, market associations and all other groups to take this message very seriously. It is a task that must be undertaken,” he stated.

Southeast leaders at the meeting include Mbazuluike Amaechi, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Nnia Nwodo, Chris Anyanwu, Enwo Igariwey, Victor Umeh, Peter Umeadi and Fred Eze among others.

Against speculations of caving in to pressure from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria’s electoral umpire, INEC, says it will not extend the deadline set for political parties’ primary elections.

In its timetable and schedule of activities released in February for the 2023 General Election, the commission had slated April 4 to June 3 for the election of flag bearers of all political parties for the 2023 elections.

With about 28 days to the deadline, the nation’s leading political parties, APC and PDP, appear not ready for their primaries. While APC is still selling nomination forms to aspirants, PDP is screening eligible aspirants.

However, the two major parties are reportedly lobbying INEC to shift the dates.

In an unusual rush, not less than 23 and 17 persons have respectively shown interest in the presidential tickets of the ruling APC and the PDP.

As at Thursday 15 aspirants have made payment of N100 million each for the presidential contest in the APC while more than half of the number have obtained the same forms at N40 million in the PDP.

With the growing number of aspirants and agitations on zoning of the top seat, leaders of both parties are under immense pressure to handle the matter with care or risk full blown crises

Deadline remains

However, INEC, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Festus Okoye, on Thursday, warned political parties against daring its resolution on the fixed deadline.

“Given the importance of the exercise to the emergence of candidates for the various elective positions for the 2023 General Election, it is imperative to remind political parties that they have one month from today to conclude their primaries. The deadline remains Friday 3rd June 2022. While urging the parties to ensure a rancour-free and transparent exercise, the Commission reiterates that the deadline is firm and fixed.

“Nominations for Presidential and National Assembly elections shall be submitted through the INEC web portal from 10th to 17th June 2022 while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly nominations shall be submitted between 1st and 15th July 2022,” Okoye said.

The commission also confirmed the full compliance of the 18 political parties in the country to section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022.

The section mandates all political parties to notify the commission on dates for their conventions, congresses, and primaries for the purpose of nominating candidates for various elective offices.

While both the PDP and APC have not clearly disclosed where they intend to zone the presidential seat to, the dates for the primaries tentatively remain May 28 and 29 for the former and 31 for the latter.