The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says some private aircraft operating in Nigeria were being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
The Minister made the revelation on Thursday in Abuja – when he inaugurated a Ministerial Taskforce Committee to checkmate illegal chartered operations in the country.
Though the minister did not mention the names of the airlines, he asserted that the illegal activities have made the sector lose billions of dollars and raised serious security concerns.
The minister further stated that some of those involved in the illegal activities were those who acquired licenses for non-commercial flight operations but went against the stipulated agreement of the licenses.
Addressing the committee members, Keyamo mandated that they take inventory of all non-commercial flights operators, investigate all professional licenses and confirm their authenticity as well as recommend disciplinary measures against those found culpable.
The eight-man committee is chaired by the Chief Executive Office of Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, and the committee is expected to report all findings to the minister within the next three months.