Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered an investigation into a recent confrontation at Lagos Airport involving Air Peace airline and Senator Adams Oshiomhole.
The directive comes after Air Peace accused the senator, who represents Edo North, of disrupting flight operations after he missed a scheduled flight. Oshiomhole was seen in widely circulated videos at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, confronting airport staff and later sitting at a departure gate, reportedly protesting.
In response, Senator Oshiomhole denied any disruption, claiming instead that he was standing up against “extortion” and “arbitrary policy changes” by the airline.
He alleged that Air Peace demanded additional payments from passengers who had already checked in online.
Air Peace refuted the claims, calling them “deliberate falsehood” and insisting that no such payments were required after check-in had closed.
Minister Keyamo said on Friday that he had been in direct contact with both parties since the incident. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he appealed for calm and urged both sides to stop making public accusations.
“I am directing the relevant aviation agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter, gather all available evidence, and report back to my office,” he said. “This will ensure that we handle the issue in a way that guides behaviour in similar situations going forward.”
Keyamo also stressed the importance of a fair and balanced investigation, urging aviation agencies not to jump to conclusions without hearing from all parties involved.