The Foundation for Investigative Journalism filed a libel complaint against Air Peace, stating that the company operated planes from Lagos to Anambra State on October 12, 2022. A Lagos High Court has ordered Air Peace to respond to the Foundation’s queries.
Air Peace argues that it followed safety procedures and guidelines in accordance with safety guidelines and policies in the lawsuit LD/ADR/4833/23 – Air Peace v. Foundation for Investigative Journalism.
It criticized the strong responses provided by FIJ’s Interrogatory in response to inquiries about the aircraft and flight operations, calling them “scandalous and irrelevant” in relation to the libel lawsuit. FIJ was not happy with the answers to the questions, it filed an application requiring Air Peace to provide a response to the questions that it had sufficiently objected to.
The court ruled on Thursday, and Justice Jose upheld the FIJ’s argument, which was presented by attorneys Abimbola Ojenike and Jesulayomi Oyelami of Slingstone LP. They claimed that the questions asking for information about the first two aircraft intended to carry passengers were pertinent to the facts at hand, related to the defendants’ case, and could establish the defendants’ correctness.
Consequently, the court ordered Air Peace to respond to the defendant’s interrogation questions 1, 4, and 7 within seven days of the order’s issuance.
“Question 1 – Provide the comprehensive description and specification of the aircraft 5N-BUL initially scheduled for the operation of Flight P47336 on October 12, 2022.
“In particular, but not limited to, any problems and or repairs on the systems, the description should include the make, year, engine type, and service information, including the most recent Aircraft Maintenance Checks done prior to Flight P47336 on October 12, 2022.
“Question 4 – Provide the comprehensive specifications of the technical issues discovered in the course of operation of Flight P47336 and the circumstances which led to the change of the aircraft from 5N-BUL to 5N-BQQ.
“Question 7 – Provide the comprehensive descriptions and specifications of the aircraft 5N-BQQ initially onboard the passengers for the operation of Flight P47336 on October 12, 2022. The description should include make, year, engine type, and service information, including the most recent Aircraft Maintenance Checks conducted prior to Flight P47336 of October 12, 2022, particularly but not limited to any faults and or repairs on the systems.
However, the lawsuit was adjourned until May 23, 2024 in order to allow for further proceedings.
As previously reported by FIJ, travelers on an Air Peace plane departing from Lagos to Anambra were able to escape death when the engine failed three times at the take-off point.
The plane was supposed to take off at 11 am, but the airline’s management had earlier stated that the plane had unexpectedly developed a fault, causing a two-hour delay.
“There was no explanation until the passengers requested to be leave the plane after the engine stopped three times. When the passengers voiced their concerns, the captain simply offered a hazy explanation. He claimed that the DAC or something akin to it went off on us, according to FIJ, which cited three different sources.
This was intended to be a backup plane since the previous one was unusable due to technical reasons. I think they might soon record a crash if they keep acting in such a careless manner. We probably would have crashed if we had flown today,” it continued.
Subsequently, Airpeace filed a lawsuit against FIJ, requesting N50 million in damages, N250 million in aggravated damages, and N5 million to cover cost of legal action.
