ABOUT THE SUIT

This is a Class Action suit commenced in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York, by class representatives, on behalf of about 400 passengers stranded in Nigeria by the now defunct airline: Nigeria Airways Limited, which was wholly owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, and which operated direct flights between Lagos and New York.

Plaintiffs were passengers on Nigeria Airways Flight WT. 851, a Boeing 747-400, which Defendant Nigerian Airways Limited operated, and which departed JFK International Airport in New York on Saturday, November 30, 2002 and arrived in Lagos , Nigeria on December 1, 2002 without passeger luggage. Passenger luggage were abandoned in New York for weeks, and passengers were stranded in Nigeria with worthless tickets as Nigeria Airways abruptly ceased operations, failed to transport the Plaintiffs back to New York, failed to refund advance payments received from passengers, or make alternative return flights available to the passengers.

Some of the passengers were forced by Nigeria Airways staff to pay a random and improper fee of One Hundred Twenty Five dollars ($125) for each carry-on bag customarily carried free on board an airline as “hand-luggage. The Plaintiffs alleged several counts including: Fraudulent Inducement, Negligent Misrepresentation, False Imprisonment, Breach of the Warsaw Convention (as amended by the Montreal Convention and amendments thereto), Unjust Enrichment, Detrimental Reliance, and Violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1962(c) and 1964(c), Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act;

Class Representatives, Ndidi C. Azikiwe, Marie Phillips, Charles Mbamara, and Modupe Alagbala on behalf of themselves and the entire class of persons similarly situated are represented by the law firm of FAGBENLE ATTORNEYS, LLC- also known as Global-Lawyer. The attorneys include: Kunle Fagbenle, Esquire, Theo I. Ogune, Esquire (of Ogune, LLC), James Strouse, Esquire, and Morris E. Fischer, Esquire (Of-Counsel).

Named in the suit are: Nigeria Airways Limited, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Bureau of Public Enterprises of Nigeria, and the Minister of Aviation for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (“Defendants”).