Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered an investigation into the recent altercation between the management of Air Peace and Senator Adams Oshiomhole over an incident at Lagos Airport.
The Minister disclosed the directive via a post on his official X platform (formerly Twitter) on Friday, June 13, 2025. He said relevant aviation regulatory agencies have been mandated to investigate the face-off and report their findings.
“In the wake of the incident at the Lagos Airport last Wednesday involving Air Peace Airline and His Excellency, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, I have been in direct contact with both parties since that morning,” Keyamo stated. “I also directed the aviation agencies to exercise restraint in jumping to conclusions in line with the time-honoured legal principle of ‘hear all sides’ before reaching judgment.”
The regulatory bodies expected to lead the inquiry include the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), among others.
The dispute stems from an incident on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, when Air Peace accused Senator Oshiomhole of arriving late for a scheduled flight at Terminal 1 (Zulu Hall) of the Lagos Airport and allegedly disrupting operations after being denied boarding.
“Air Peace strongly condemns the unruly conduct of a prominent Nigerian politician who disrupted airport operations on the morning of Wednesday, June 11, 2025,” the airline said in a statement. It claimed the senator arrived about 20 minutes after the flight had closed for boarding.
In a swift rebuttal, Senator Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, accused Air Peace staff of extortion and misconduct. He claimed he had already completed the online check-in process before arriving at the airport and was unjustly prevented from boarding.
He also alleged that airline staff engaged in shady practices, such as selling seats at inflated prices to passengers willing to pay extra.
While tensions flared publicly between both parties, Minister Keyamo urged calm and civility. “Whilst appealing to both sides to halt the public accusations and counter-accusations,” he said, “I am further directing the relevant aviation agencies to thoroughly look into the issue, collect all available evidence, and revert to my office so we can deal with the issue in such a way as to guide future conduct in similar situations.”
The outcome of the investigation is expected to provide clarity and help formulate guidelines to prevent similar incidents in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
