Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to place Fuji Musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (K1), on the no-fly list of local and foreign airlines.
Speaking on Thursday’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Keyamo lampooned KWAM 1, saying physical blockage of the aircraft from taxing was a reprehensible conduct akin to a hostage situation.
He said all domestic and international airlines should be informed of the directive. Any airline that flouts the directive risks losing its operating licence.
He said, “I have received reports from all the relevant Aviation agencies regarding the altercation between the staff and crew of ValueJet and KWAM 1 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Tuesday, August 7, 2025. I have also received video footage of the incident.
“From all the details so far received, my preliminary impression is that it was a case of temporary loss of sanity and control on both sides, which could have led to serious fatalities.
“I have noted that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has temporarily suspended the licence of the captain and the Pilot pending full investigation. I commend them for their proactive action.
“However, I have also questioned their sense of justice in only acting against one party and not the other. What applies to the goose must also apply to the gander. That is one of the tenets of justice I have preached all my life. I will not sit idly by and allow this to pass.
“In the circumstances, I have also directed the NCAA to place KWAM 1 on a no-fly list pending further and full investigation, just like the captain and pilot. All domestic and International airlines should immediately be informed of this directive, and anyone who flouts it risks withdrawing their operating licence.”
The minister further disclosed that KWAM 1 and the pilots breached standard safety protocol as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) required.
He stated that no amount of provocation should make the captain and pilot of an aircraft begin to taxi without ensuring that the security personnel have safely moved an unruly passenger away from the aeroplane.
“Contrary to what the agents of Kwam 1 have said, he constantly moved his position on the tarmac to block the aircraft from taxiing to take position on the runway for take-off. This is an unacceptable behaviour. The issue of whether he was carrying water or alcohol is not even in issue at this point. The physical blockage of the aircraft from taxiing is the reprehensible conduct here, akin to a hostage situation. The actual video footage showing this recalcitrant behaviour is hereby attached.
“On the other hand, no amount of provocation should make the Captain and Pilot of an aircraft begin to taxi without ensuring that the security personnel have safely moved an unruly passenger away from standing in front of an aeroplane.
“Both sides breached the standard safety protocol as required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO),” Keyamo added.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it will blacklist KWAM1 from all Nigerian airports for the next six months.
NCAA’s director of public affairs and consumer protection, Michael Achimugu, said the NCAA had written to the attorney general of the federation and the inspector general of police to bring a court case against him.
Achimugu noted that aviation rules were made for everybody and the protection of everybody.
He said, “I must assure the general public that everybody involved will be brought to book. As we speak, the passenger is going to be blacklisted for the next six months from flying in Nigeria. Aviation rules are made for everybody, for the protection of everybody.
“Everybody who needs to be punished or sanctioned will receive justice. The NCAA has written to the attorney general of the federation (AGF) and the inspector general of police (IGP), as we speak, to take up a court case against the passenger in this case.
“Many people might not want to believe that this particular passenger was blacklisted because he was close to the presidency, like you said, during that incident. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, if you know him well, is a respecter of the law. And so is the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo. Both of them submit themselves to every security check at every airport worldwide. No other Nigerian is above the law. A law that the president himself obeys, no Nigerian is above that law.”
Also, insider sources said the alcohol could have been purchased at the airport passenger lounge, as it is openly sold in cans across the kiosks in the lounge.
The source, who craved anonymity, said airport security had stopped the Fuji musician from leaving the terminal gate, telling him he couldn’t board with the liquid.
However, experts explained that the NCAA is responsible for enforcing protocol breaches at the nation’s airports, which could be seen in the immediate suspension of the pilots over protocol breaches.
Accordingly, the NCAA confirmed that the pilot took off without permission, which resulted in the suspension of the pilot’s licence.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, Capt Muhammed Badamasi, a former Chief Pilot of the defunct Associated Airline, said the pilots risk suspension over their actions.
Capt. Badamasi said what happened is akin to what led to the associated crash in 2013, saying the 2013 crash resulted from an argument between the captain and the ground officer.
He said, “I can tell you for free that the accident in 2013 was an argument between the captain and the officer who dispatched the aircraft. The ground officer was telling the captain that, you know, the customer had paid for this flight, and we could not afford to return the money, and the aircraft was not in good health. Therefore, it was like, well, let us dispatch this aeroplane to Akure. In addition, everybody saw what happened.
“All these types of things were not reported because the investigators didn’t even call people who were witnesses at that place at that time, but as the chief pilot in the airline, I was able to gather this from those people who were standing there.”
According to Badamasi, because the pilot’s licence is very valuable, they should have exercised precautions.
He said the procedure is that before an aircraft moves, somebody is supposed to signal to him that the whole area is clear.
“The video I saw, I didn’t know any marshal who signalled him to taxi out of the apron. I don’t know whether he got clearance, and even if he got clearance from the control tower, somebody was supposed to marshal him out of that place, but I didn’t see any marshal there. Again, the procedure is that if an aircraft is to move, somebody is supposed to signal that the whole area is clear. From that video, I saw people were still by the side of the aircraft.
“It’s probably the starboard side, the right side of the aircraft, and I think, maybe by instinct, that guy in a suit just managed to touch the wing of the plane, which I feel is unprofessional.
“I saw this type of thing last when Okada Airline was operating.
“No matter what the situation, even if he has an issue with the ground staff, a pilot is supposed to control his emotions, and because your licence is a very valuable thing, He may even lose his job,” he added.
Capt Badamasi said withdrawing their licence was the best thing for the regulator to do.
“Suspending their licence is the right thing to do. It doesn’t mean that is the end of their profession, but it will encourage precautions in the future. Also, after investigating, they should be sent to ground school because there must be a root cause of what made them react the way he did.
“They should recommend that he go to ground school, where he must do crew resource management.
And also, you know, relationships with the non-crew members. It may take him about one year or so before he can fly again,” Capt. Badamasi stated.
Also speaking, an aviation analyst, Dr James Odaudu, said the pilots should have been able to react more professionally than they did.
He said professionalism should be key in whatever the pilots do, rather than the human factor.
“I think it would compromise airport security and individual and collective travellers’ safety. The pilots also should have been able to react more professionally, that is, be more professional than they were, but since the NCAA is on the matter, there is little one can say now.
“For me, the pilots, as much as they are human and are capable of reacting to issues as human beings, I think professionalism should be key in whatever they do,” Oduadu, the former aide to former aviation minister Hadi Sirika, said.
FAAN should be penalised for security lapses – aviation expert
Another aviation expert, Mohammed Sani, said the situation would have been averted if the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) staff had done their job correctly and not compromised safety standards.
He said, “How did KWAM1 cross the last check of the airport building with an obvious flask carrying illegal liquid without the FAAN staff, especially the Aviation Security (AVSEC), stopping him. Can this happen to a poor man? He should not have exited the building if the FAAN staff had done their jobs correctly.”
He called for the sanctioning of the FAAN officials, who allowed him to exit the airport building with the liquid, as a lesson to others not to compromise standards.
Also, an aviation analyst, Nuhu Adam, said there was a process failure in the FAAN Aviation security and airline security.
He said the situation would have been disastrous if it were a bigger aircraft.
He said, “It’s a process failure on the side of AVSEC and the airline. Immediately, they noticed the situation on the ramp, and the first thing was to take him into questioning because he’s already a flight risk.
“The ramp is made for passengers, and at that moment, he’s no longer a passenger and is not supposed to stay there. What if it’s a bigger aircraft? It would have sucked him, and that behaviour is wrong, and he’s still making calls.
“What happened to AVSEC and the other airport security? KWAM 1 should be arrested and prosecuted. You can’t prevent an aircraft from operating, it’s not done anywhere.” (Leadership Newspaper)
