Following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government has appealed to Canadian authorities to allow Air Peace to airlift 319 stranded Nigerians in Canada not-standing alleged subsisting issues concerning Airpeace and its CEO, Mr Allen Onyema .
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, while clarifying the postponement of the flight schedule on Thursday, had said the airline was denied landing rights by the Canadian authorities, but that officials of the Nigerian government have been in talks with their Canadian counterparts.
Mr Onyeama said: “This is the case indeed that the Canadian government denied landing rights on the grounds that this particular Nigerian carrier did not have licence to undertake commercial flights to that country and was not known to that country for commercial flights.
“Our high commissioner in Canada is engaging with the Canadian government on this issue and we’re hopeful that we can have the decision reversed.The argument that he’s putting forward, which is a strong argument, is that this is not a regular commercial flight to Canada to take passengers, but that this is an emergency flight and that there is a difference between the two. So, the negotiations are ongoing and we are hopeful that there will be a positive result.”
Recall that since late last year, the founder and CEO of Airpeace, Mr Allen Onyema and his company Airpeace have been facing multiple charges of money laundering and bank fraud in excess of $20 million in the US following his indictment by a US grand jury.
However, it is not clear if this subsisting issues may form part of the subject of engagements between the designated Nigerian government officials and their Canadian counterparts.
Recall also that the money laundering charges and indictment against Onyema, one Ejiroghene Eghagha, Airpeace’s chief of administration and finance and Airpeace, a top-grade, thriving Nigerian Airline had elicited serious injurious reputational crisis against the airline including the suspects themselves.
This development was further aggravated by broadening investigations against Onyema, Airpeace and Eghagha as Canadian authorities reportedly commenced moves late last year to execute a corresponding warrant of arrest issued against the duo of Onyema and Eghagha.
Both the US and Canada have long-standing diplomatic protocols and treaties on cross-border crimes, criminality and financial fraud. Reportedly acting on the basis of this, Russell Vineyard, a magistrate at the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia had issued a corresponding warrant of arrest for Mr Onyema and Eghagha in Canada in late last year.
With this, the US law enforcement agents reportedly requested the assistance of their Canadian counterparts to take the duo into custody if found within Canadian jurisdiction. In August, 2018, Mr Onyema had reportedly established Bluestream Aero Services and Springfield Aviation Company in Ontario, Canada, respectively.
Part of the reported charges against Mr Onyema then was that he used multiple companies he set up in the U.S. to allegedly launder funds and commit bank fraud through issuance of forged letters of credit for aircraft and equipment purchases.
Reports indicated that some of the companies’ bank accounts in the U.S. and Canada had been frozen along with their substantial balances as part of the subsisting investigations, court documents had indicated.
The documents had revealed that the sum of $4,593,842.05 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending 7523 in the name of Springfield Aviation Inc. was reportedly impounded as part of on-going investigations.
The American government reportedly also traced and confiscated additional $5,634,842.04 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending in 515 in the name of Bluestream Aero Services, Inc.
However, in a statement issued by Airpeace, both Onyema and his company Airpeace maintained their innocence, staying that they are willing to defend their purity before any court of law including in the U.S.
The statement added: “I am innocent of all charges and the US government will find no dirt on me because I have never conducted business with any illegalities… The American companies that received the funds are still in business. I never took a penny from any US bank or Nigerian bank. I am willing to defend my innocence in the US courts.”
In the meantime, the federal government has designated Airpeace as the airline to airlift the evacuees. According to the itinerary, Air Peace was scheduled to airlift Canadian citizens from Nigeria and take them to Canada and then evacuate Nigerians from that country from Toronto and another stop in Calgary and thereafter bring them back to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government officials have also reportedly intensified their negotiation with their Canadian counterparts to allow the airlifting of 319 Nigerians stranded there, using the Air Peace airline. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Onyeama, the decision to utilize Airpeace stems from the fact that it is an emergency flight which is quite different from a regular commercial flight.
“This is not a regular commercial flight to Canada to take passengers, but that this is an emergency flight and that there is a difference between the two. So, the negotiations are ongoing and we are hopeful that there will be a positive result.”, Onyeama added.
