Ministerial Taskforce on Illegal Air Charter Operations has reported a significant rise in the number of private business aircraft operating in Nigeria, with a concerning increase in illegal charter activities rising from 44 private jets in 2005 to 157 in 2024.
During a news conference in Lagos, the taskforce members revealed that the number of private business jets in Nigeria has surged by 357% increase over the past twenty years.
The National Security Adviser recently alerted the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development about the rise in money laundering, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities facilitated by private aircraft.
In response, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo inaugurated an eight-member taskforce on June 27 to investigate the persistence of illegal charters by Private Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) holders despite existing regulatory controls.
Preliminary findings from the taskforce, shared by spokesperson Roland Iyayi, revealed that out of 62 PNCF licenses in operation, many are being used for illegal charter operations.
“When you have a permit for non-commercial flight, it gives you the privilege to operate your aircraft for private purposes. It is an aberration to now take the the same aircraft on a PNCF to now put it on somebody else’s AON. What that suggests is that, you deliberately try to flout the provisions of what the regulation says”.
These illicit activities he said, are not limited to minor operators but also involve high-net-worth individuals using their private jets, adding that, most of the implicated aircraft are foreign-registered, complicating the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) ability to conduct thorough scrutiny.
“Even more alarming is the fact, we have uncovered that the illegal air charter operations are not only restricted to the small operators in the business, we found that some high-net-worth individuals who use their private jets for commercial charter, the moat complicit in all these illegal charters are the foreign registered aircraft that do not come under the purview the NCAA”.
Mr Iyayi highlighted several issues contributing to the problem, including opaque passenger manifests, conflicting regulatory matters, and inadequate oversight, which have resulted in substantial revenue losses for the federal government.
The Taskforce Chairman Captain Ado Sanusi emphasised that despite ongoing investigations, illegal charters continue unabated.
“And so, we need to do on the spot checks to make sure that, we report it to the authorities to stop these illegal charters and we are doing that and would continue to do that”.
The taskforce’s next steps include calling for submissions, interviewing key industry stakeholders and PNCF holders, engaging whistleblowers, and placing advertorials to gather more information.
The taskforce assured that all proceedings would be conducted with utmost confidentiality, transparency, and accountability.
They have a three-month mandate to complete their investigation and present a comprehensive report to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
The findings are expected to inform new regulations and measures to curb illegal air charter operations in Nigeria
