Flight operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, were disrupted on Friday following a ground handling accident involving a newly acquired Embraer 195-E2 aircraft operated by Air Peace.

The aircraft, registered as 5N-BYH, was scheduled to operate Flight P47750 from Lagos to Accra when a luggage conveyor belt truck belonging to the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO, struck one of its engines while it was on the ground.

The incident occurred after passengers had completed boarding.

The collision caused visible damage to the aircraft’s thrust reverser cowling, a component of the engine casing, prompting an immediate safety inspection and the grounding of the plane.

As a result, about 150 passengers already on board were asked to disembark, leading to delays and the cancellation of several scheduled services.

READ ALSO:Air Peace Announces Recruitment For 1,000 Fresh Graduates [SEE How To APPLY]

A source disclosed that the aircraft was assigned to operate nine flight sectors for the day, all of which were affected, forcing many passengers to be rebooked or left stranded.

Beyond passenger inconvenience, the source noted that the incident carries significant financial implications, as repairs involving aircraft engines are typically expensive.

He recalled that a similar cowling damage earlier in the year reportedly cost an airline about $3.5 million to fix.

No injuries were recorded, and investigations have commenced to determine the circumstances surrounding the collision.

Efforts to obtain comments from NAHCO’s Assistant General Manager for Corporate Communications, Mr Tayo Ajakaye, were unsuccessful as he was unavailable at the time of filing this report.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Air Peace Crew Tested Positive For Alcohol, Drug — NSIB Report

Meanwhile, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Mr Michael Achimugu, confirmed that the incident led to the disruption of Air Peace’s Lagos–Accra service.

In a post on X, Achimugu explained that passengers had already boarded when the ground handling equipment hit the aircraft, damaging the engine cover and necessitating deboarding.

He said the affected aircraft was scheduled to operate nine flight legs and that passengers booked on those flights would inevitably experience delays or cancellations.

According to him, the airline would face compensation claims, refund obligations and reputational backlash for a disruption that was not of its making, while also incurring substantial foreign exchange costs to repair the damage.

Achimugu referenced a previous incident involving a bird strike that reportedly cost the airline over $3 million to resolve, noting that it took nearly a month for a replacement engine cowling to arrive from the manufacturer.

READ ALSO:

He added that the damaged aircraft was one of Air Peace’s newly delivered E2 jets and had been fully booked until January 15, 2026, meaning passengers scheduled on its future operations would also be affected.

The NCAA spokesperson stressed that airlines often cite “technical” or “operational” reasons for such disruptions rather than publicly attributing fault to service providers, even when the airline is not responsible.
He argued that poorly trained ground handling personnel should be held accountable for incidents that inflict heavy financial, technical and reputational losses on airlines.

Achimugu further disclosed that the NCAA is considering tougher regulatory measures, including stricter sanctions for service providers found culpable in similar incidents.

He urged passengers to be honestly informed about the true causes of flight disruptions and appealed for understanding from those affected, noting that while Air Peace has standby aircraft, they were already deployed to address other operational challenges and have lower seating capacity than the damaged E2 jet.

“These behind-the-scenes realities often make airlines appear culpable when they are not,” he said.

Governor Uba Sani’s infrastructural development and land administration reforms have made Kaduna State one of the top investment destinations in Nigeria.

The Commissioner of Business Innovation and Technology, Mrs Patience Fakai, who said this at a press briefing on Friday, further said that Kaduna State will top the list of Ease of Doing Business ranking in the next round of assessment.

It will be recalled that Kaduna State came second nationwide, in the assessment of states, by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Ranking.

In the 2023 report, the state was ranked 8th, with an EoDB score of 6.18 but PEBEC’s latest ranking has now placed it 2nd in the country, with 65. 1% score across 16 indicators.

READ ALSO:Bandits Demand N500m As Ransom To Release 13 Kaduna Locals

Speaking about the achievement, Mrs Fakai acknowledged that this year’s success reflects Governor Uba Sani’s deliberate, reform-oriented leadership, ‘’whose unwavering focus on private-sector-led investment has repositioned Kaduna State as a competitive destination for business.’’

The Commissioner disclosed that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) assessment cut across infrastructure, digital connectivity, taxation, and land administration.

‘’Kaduna moved up to 2nd place in 2025, reflecting measurable performance gains year-on-year. And by 2027, we will clinch the number one position, going by the His Excellency’s development footprints,’’ she added.

The Commissioner pointed out that the Governor has repositioned the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency(KADIPA), the one-stop investment hub, to curb bureaucratic bottlenecks that impede investments.

READ ALSO:2027: Crisis Rocks Kaduna ADC Over Power Tussle

‘’We strived to reduce bureaucratic hurdles for new investors, improve licensing and registration efficiency. Kaduna State also encourages digitization of business services and approvals,’’ she stated.

According to her, KADIPA has also improved on its aftercare service to investors, by providing support systems and facilitating dialogue with Government officials to ensure that projects move forward.

The Commissioner said that these measures which Governor Uba Sani has put in place, elevated Kaduna State as the second subnational in the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria and the first in the North.

Mrs Fakai also noted that the Ease of Doing Business has improved Kaduna State’s ‘’Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N62 billion in 2023 to over N71 billion in 2025.’’

READ ALSO:El-Rufai Hits Back At ONSA, Kaduna, Insists Agencies Paying Bandits

‘’With the ongoing national tax reforms championed by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, it is expected that the State’s IGR will double in 2026,’’ she added.

She disclosed that the ranking is conducted every two years to measure how state governments ‘’implement reforms that reduce regulatory bottlenecks, improve service delivery, enhance transparency, and lower the cost of doing business for investors and enterprises.’’

The Commissioner added that the ranking aims to encourage healthy competition among states on economic governance reforms, promote private-sector-led growth and investment attraction.

Mrs Fakai also noted that the assessment also helps ‘’to improve policy consistency and regulatory predictability at subnational levels, support job creation, enterprise growth, and inclusive economic development.’’

Controversial Nigerian entertainer, Uche Maduagwu, has tendered a public apology to singer Davido and his wife, Chioma Adeleke for trolling them on the Internet.

He made the apology in a video shared on his Instagram page on Thursday.

Expressing regret for constantly making deliberate posts against the couple, Uche Maduagwu confessed that he was paid N2.5 million to troll the singer and his family on social media.

While disclosing that he was paid along with four other Nigerian influencers to ridicule Davido online, Uche noted that the singer hasn’t done anything wrong.

READ ALSO:Asake Tops Apple Music Nigeria’s 2025 List As Wizkid, Davido, Seyi Vibez Make Top Five

“I was paid to ridicule your wife and your family. I’m not the only one, we’re like five different influencers in Nigeria that were paid. And I’m urging other people that were paid to ridicule Davido to please come out, return the money they said you should use to criticise this guy.

“He has not done anything wrong. I want to apologise to Davido, please forgive me. I collected over N2 million to ridicule you and I’m sorry. Others please return the money they paid you please”, he stated.

Captioning the video he wrote; “God I’m in TEARS now, I just want @davido to Forgive me, we are 5 influencers paid to criticize Davido. Every criticism you constantly see about Davido and him IYAWO online was paid for. Can you people help me beg 001 to forgive me?”

Watch him speak below:

View this post on Instagram