According to Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, several private aircraft operating in Nigeria are being used for illicit activities, including money laundering and drug trafficking.
Keyamo disclosed this at the Ministry of Aviation in Abuja on Thursday, as he launched a Ministerial Taskforce Committee to checkmate illegal chartered operations in the country.
He claimed that those involved in these criminal activities obtained non-commercial licences from the government but then violated the terms of their licences by deploying their jets for commercial flights.
He asserted that these illegal activities have caused the sector to lose billions of dollars and raised serious security concerns. He mandated the task force to document all non-commercial flight operators, scrutinise all professional licenses to determine their authenticity, and recommend disciplinary measures against any airline found culpable.
The eight-man committee was chaired by Ado Sanusi, the CEO of Aero Contractors. The committee is expected to report all findings to the minister within 90 days.