Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has said the federal government may seize the assets of Dana Air to refund passengers and travel agents whose funds have remained trapped.

The minister made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during the ministry’s fourth-quarter stakeholders’ engagement themed “leveraging public feedback to drive excellence in aviation services”.
Keyamo stated that he would also instruct the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to investigate the delay in processing the outstanding refunds.

He explained that the suspension of Dana Air’s operations was implemented to prevent a potential tragedy, stressing that safety was prioritised over commercial considerations.

Keyamo said the administration received “damning reports” on Dana Air’s safety record and operational standards during its review of the airline.

He added that although the NCAA decided to ground the airline, he urged the regulator to prioritise passenger safety based on the findings presented.
According to him, “for Dana, the problem is that it was a choice between safety and disaster.”

“So we didn’t take the commercial thing as a priority. The priority was safety and we all looked at the damning reports that we met on the table,” he said.

“It was a decision of the NCAA to suspend them, but I pushed them to say, look, these are the reports we are seeing on the table about safety record, about lack of standards that put the lives of Nigerians at risk.

“If they continue flying, I don’t know whether most of us will be here. Many of us would have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid.”

Keyamo said he has directed Chris Najomo, acting director-general of the NCAA, to determine how passengers and ticket agents can receive refunds.

The minister added that he has “asked Najomo to dig deep to find out how those passengers and agents will be refunded. He has to dig deep on that”.

“One solution will also be that if that same individual or those entities are trying to come back to aviation under any guise, whether to go and register a new AOC or use any business within the aviation sector, they have to go and settle their debts first,” he said.

“We should look at their assets. There are assets that are still available. Let them sell their assets.
“Let’s cannibalise their revenue and pay people. Let’s find a way to go after their assets and get money to pay Nigerians who are owed.

“NCAA should do that because they can’t get away with it.”

On April 24, 2024, Keyamo directed the NCAA to suspend the operations of Dana Air following an incident at Lagos airport a day earlier in which one of the airline’s aircraft veered off the runway.

Two days later, the minister said internal reports conducted two years before the incident showed that Dana Air was unfit to fly, adding that the frequency of incidents involving the airline prompted the suspension.

Keyamo also announced that President Bola Tinubu has approved special funding for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to acquire equipment.

He explained that the new financing arrangement removes NAMA’s equipment procurement from the annual budget process.

Also, Ahmed Farouk, director-general of NAMA, said the agency now has a fully functional flight calibration unit for validating instrument approach procedures.

Farouk, represented by John Tayo, director of air traffic services, said NAMA has also signed agreements with Sierra Leone and Liberia to support calibration services in line with ICAO standards.
He added that night operations have been approved until 10pm at airports in Owerri, Enugu, Yola and Ilorin.

Farouk said the approvals follow stakeholder requests to extend operating hours beyond Lagos and Abuja.
He also stated that ad-hoc approval has been granted to Air Peace for flights to Anambra and Asaba.

“We are always available to grant extension because of our capacity. For now, we will not be able to operate all the airports in the country till 10pm,” he said.

The director-general added that, following Keyamo’s directive, operations remain open until 10pm at the listed airports.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arrested and repatriated Acar Huseyin, a 61-year-old Turkish national who absconded from his country after being convicted of fraud earlier in the year.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Benjamin Hundeyin, spokesperson of the force, said Huseyin was convicted by the Istanbul Anadolu high criminal court and fled shortly after judgement to avoid serving a sentence of 14 years, eight months, and 10 days.

Hundeyin explained that the fugitive travelled through the Middle East before entering Nigeria.

“In July 2025, INTERPOL NCB Ankara published a Red Notice, requesting member countries to locate and arrest the fugitive. Acting on this request, INTERPOL NCB Abuja initiated discreet intelligence-led operations which led to his arrest in Abuja,” the statement reads.

The police spokesperson confirmed that Huseyin has been repatriated to Istanbul to begin his sentence after completing the required documentation, in collaboration with international partners.

He added that Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), commended the INTERPOL unit for what he described as a professional operation, insisting that Nigeria would not serve as a refuge for fugitives or escaped convicts.

Egbetokun stated that the police remain committed to honouring international obligations, strengthening cooperation with global law enforcement agencies, and supporting efforts against transnational crime.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) says it has received “disturbing reports” alleging delayed or withheld security intervention during attacks in several predominantly Christian communities.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the bishops condemned the country’s security situation and addressed accusations of a Christian “genocide” — a claim the federal government has consistently dismissed.

The clerics said the allegation was linked to what they described as a “prolonged” pattern of assaults targeting members of the Christian faith.

“It is a matter of grave concern that several predominantly Christian communities, particularly in the Northern and middle belt regions of the country, have come under repeated and brutal attacks, resulting in heavy casualties and the tragic loss of many Christian lives,” the statement reads.

“In some instances, there have been disturbing reports of delayed or withheld security responses, giving the impression of possible collusion or a lack of will to act.”

The bishops noted that the “near-total destruction and occupation” of affected settlements, as well as continued assaults on displaced persons in camps, had heightened public fear and reinforced claims of “genocide” among some groups.

“Yet, mindful of the sacred dignity and inestimable worth of every human life, we are equally deeply concerned that Muslims and many other innocent citizens of diverse ethnic backgrounds have also been victims of this same cruelty that continues to desecrate our common humanity,” they added.

The CBCN called on the federal government to investigate the reports surrounding delayed or withheld security responses and to rebuild public confidence in state protection mechanisms.

The bishops also urged authorities to ensure that those responsible for recent kidnappings across Kebbi, Kwara, Borno and Niger states are brought to justice.