Court orders seizure of Kabo airline properties

Kola Oyelere, Kano - 07.03.2008

The Federal High Court in Kano has ordered the seizure of the property of Kabo Air Limited across the country over disobedience to a court order and breach of contractual agreement.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who gave the judgment, said the seizure had become necessary because Kabo Air failed to obey an order and contractual agreement during the 2006 hajj exercise.

The court also ruled that the airline should pay the sum of N26.2 million as compensation to a Lagos-based company being the cost of airfare for 150 intending pilgrims who were to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia.

Justice Adeniyi ordered the seizure of all the property of Kabo Air for its failure to comply with an earlier judgment, which ordered it to pay back the airfares of 150 pilgrims who could not travel during the period.

Journalists who witnessed the seizure of the airline’s property at its head office in Kano, observed that three staff and crew buses with registration numbers AE 767 KBK, AE 765 KBK and AA 733 RGG; and two Peugeot 307 cars with registration number AE 674 KBK and AE 687 KBK respectively, were all taken away by the court officials in compliance with the court order.

The plaintiffs, Hajj Mabrur Ventures Limited said it was demanding another N40 million from Kabo Air as damages for failure to conclude the contractual agreement, a situation it said resulted in it being dragged to court to seek redress.

The management of Kabo Air described the court order to seize its property as an “embarrassment and breach of rule”, explaining that it had already filed an appeal challenging the earlier judgment by the Kano court.

Manager Operations Kabo Air, Alhaji Aliyu Aminu, said in an interview that the company had filed an appeal as at the time the Federal High court in Kano sent its people to seize properties belonging to the airline.