Nigeria’s first professor of aviation law, Ismail Adua Mustapha, has urged the Federal Government to prosecute Fuji music star Wasiu Ayinde Marshall for obstructing a ValueJet aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, warning that failure to act could have serious consequences.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Monday, Professor Mustapha of the Department of Business Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, warned that Nigeria’s Grade A aviation safety status could be withdrawn if the government fails to act. “Consequently, some international flights may desert Nigerian airspace due to a lack of civil aviation security,” he said.
The professor noted that Nigeria, as a signatory to international civil aviation conventions, including Annexe 17 of the Chicago Convention (1944), is under an obligation to prosecute and severely punish any suspect found guilty of such offences. He added that similar provisions are also embedded in the NCAA Act 2022 (Section 50) and NCARs 2023 (Part 17).
Citing the incident of August 6, 2025, which occurred at the local terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Mustapha argued that the suspect (Wasiu Ayinde) should be prosecuted for the following offences:
Attempted hijacking and taking of hostages, contrary to Section 83 of the NCAA Act 2022 and Article 1 of the 1979 Taking of Hostages Convention and the 2010 Beijing Convention. These offences are punishable under Section 86(3) of the Act—by ₦25 million fine and life imprisonment. Assault and violent conduct against the pilot and a security officer, contrary to Section 84(3)(a), punishable under Section 83(3)(b), with penalties of at least ₦2 million or not less than five years’ imprisonment.
Refusal to submit to screening, contrary to Sections 42 and 45 of the NCAA Act 2022 and Part 17 of NCARs 2023, is punishable under Section 45(3) of the Act.
