Expert demands stiffer sanctions against private jet owners operating illegal charter services
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has been advised to prosecute private jet owners who indulge in illegal charter services according to the extant economic and criminal laws of the country going forward.
This was a proposition put forward by the Chief Executive Officer of West Link Airlines, Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia, in reaction to the 60-days suspension, meted out on a private jet owner who was found culpable of illegal charter services by the NCAA recently.
Mshelia commended the Authority for apprehending the culprit but urged that in order to instill sanity in the industry and prevent such criminally-minded operators from jumping protocols; the NCAA must involve the law enforcement agencies such as the Department of Security Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for stiffer sanctions.
He said such criminal activities have robbed the aviation agencies and, by extension, the government of revenues and taxes derivable from such commercial services.
Mshelia advised that instead of engaging in illegal charter services, some of the private jet operators should change their license to commercial, airlift clients legally, create more jobs for teeming professionals, and pay the appropriate levies and taxes to the government.
He called on the Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, to adopt international standards, considering his experience and exposure, in enforcing the needed reforms in the sector.
He said: “NCAA in what they are doing at the moment, they need our help. So many of us know the truth and we can help NCAA to act. We have a system that is hopeless, but you cannot say the truth in the public, otherwise, you are called the radical.
“It shows us that the current NCAA helmsman is determined to exhibit what he has learned from outside. The man was in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). He knows what is happening in other countries, he has seen it and he has come to say no.
“The real truth is that there are powerful people behind all these illegal actions. If they are not, it would have been easy to flush them out. They want to live big. Some of these people are in a position to stop this in a minute, but they are involved in it. If we dig deeper, we will find them out.
“I disagree with the DG on the 60 days suspension of license. That is a crime against the economy of the country. That is a crime against all we stand for. Why will NCAA just give such a little punishment? The punishment should be more serious.
“I want to call your attention to something, NCAA is not a law court; it has its limitation legislatively on how it can punish citizens legislatively. I want to advise that the NCAA should go further by handing over the culprit for prosecution in the law court. In that case, it will be in order. To me, the 60 days is too little.”
Earlier, the NCAA disclosed that it had apprehended a private jet operator who uses its equipment for charter services.
The culprit, whose identity was not revealed, was suspended for about 60 days with additional sanction if found guilty.
