Daily Post Nigeria report that major dispute has erupted between Air Peace and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) following the release of a preliminary report on the recent incident involving one of the airline’s aircraft at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
According to NSIB’s findings, the aircraft’s captain and first officer allegedly tested positive for ethyl, an alcohol by-product, while a cabin crew member reportedly tested positive for THC, the active substance in cannabis.
However, Air Peace has strongly rejected the claims, stressing that it has not officially received the report. The airline insisted its crew had been cleared by relevant aviation authorities and described the NSIB’s conclusions as misleading.
The airline further disclosed that its First Officer had already been reinstated to active flying duties with the approval of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Meanwhile, cabin crew member Victory Maduneme has threatened legal action, dismissing the drug allegation as false.
In his testimony, co-pilot David Bernard alleged that the captain ignored his call to abort the landing approach, saying: “Commander, you are high for this approach; we should initiate a go-around.”
NSIB’s Director General, Alex Badeh, maintained that the bureau stands by its findings, insisting that the report was based on credible evidence.
The controversy has sparked widespread public debate on aviation safety, regulatory oversight, and the integrity of flight crew operations in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Sunday Buna Ibrahim is a seasoned journalist with Daily Frontier (dailyfrontier.com.ng), where he reports on security, conflicts, and humanitarian issues across Nigeria’s Middle Belt, particularly Plateau and Benue States. He also serves as a News Producer at Vision FM Radio in Abuja. Prior to joining Daily Frontier, he worked with Radio Nigeria, Fombina FM Yola in Adamawa State between 2019 and 2020.
