The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the incident at Abuja airport involving Fuji musician KWAM 1 was a situation where both sides lost control and acted irrationally. He warned that things could have ended very badly.
Keyamo shared his thoughts on the issue in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. This came shortly after the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) announced that KWAM 1 was banned from flying for six months because of what happened on Tuesday.
He explained that both KWAM 1 and the ValueJet staff involved in the incident broke important safety rules set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Keyamo said, “I’ve gotten reports and video footage from all the aviation agencies about the fight between ValueJet staff and KWAM 1 at Abuja airport on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.”
He continued, “From what I’ve seen so far, both parties acted in a way that showed they lost control. Their actions could have caused a major accident.”
Keyamo said KWAM 1 was clearly at fault for standing in front of the plane and blocking it from moving. He said this kind of behavior is completely wrong and dangerous.
He added that whether KWAM 1 was holding water or alcohol doesn’t matter in this case.
“What really matters,” he said, “is that he physically blocked the plane, which is very serious and similar to a hostage situation.”
The minister also shared a video that shows the musician blocking the plane.
He said, “On the other hand, no matter how angry the pilot may have been, he should not have started moving the plane until the passenger was safely removed. That was also wrong.”
Keyamo explained that both sides broke the safety rules required by international aviation standards.
He praised the NCAA for quickly suspending the licenses of the plane’s Captain and Pilot until the matter is fully investigated.
However, he questioned why only the pilot and captain were punished, and not KWAM 1 too. He said fairness means treating both sides equally.
Keyamo added, “I’ve always believed in justice, and I won’t just sit and watch this situation be handled unfairly.”
Because of this, he also directed the NCAA to ban KWAM 1 from flying for now, just like the pilot and captain, until the investigation is complete.
He instructed that all local and international airlines must be told about this ban right away. He warned that any airline that disobeys this order could lose their license to operate.
