ALTHOUGH the Federal Government and the insurers of the ill-fated Dana Airline that crashed recently in Lagos haveassured family members of the victims that compensation would not be delayed, unfolding eventstend to point otherwise. Despite the promise that compensation would get to the beneficiaries within30 days, the rigorous process of gettinglettersof administration before compensation could be paid has become a very big hurdle to cross. It is against this backdrop that a Lagos-based lawyer and consumer rights activist, Onu Eke Uche, in this interview with BERTRAM NWANNEKANMA, called for the domestication of the international conventions with a view to solving some of the hiccups noticed as a result of the incident. The human rights activist also spoke on the recent Coroner inquest being conducted by Lagos State government on the crash victims, as well as the bribery allegation involving the subsidy probe. Excerpts.THE recent Dana air crash that claimed the lives of all the 157 passengers on board, as well as some residents of the buildings it crashed on, has again, brought the question of how well the industry is regulated. How do you react to this issue'It was a very sad commentary for the nation, particularly the aviation industry, because we have never witnessed that kind of monumental loss of passengers in any air disaster in the history of this nation. Don't forget that prior to that incident, there were rumours concerning the state of that particular aircraft owned by Dana airline. Therefore, one would have expected the regulatory agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), whose mandate it is to regulate the aviation industry in Nigeria, to wield the big stick in that situation. I think it is part of the failure of the system, because if it were to be in other advanced climes, by now, what we should be talking about would have been how to hold all the relevant regulatory agencies responsible for the incident, and possibly, be charging them to court. The incident has exposed the rot in the system, because if NCAA were to be alive to its responsibility, it would have done routine check and maintenance of the aircraft that fly in the air. What we are gathering now, even from the on-going probe of the aviation industry, is that there is serious rot on the part of the NCAA. I think, this is the right time for government to bring to book those that, either by omission or commission, failed to do the right thing.Do you think that there are adequate laws to regulate the aviation industry in Nigeria'In Nigeria, we don't really have what is called a compendium of consumer protection law like we have in other jurisdictions such as India and Canada, where you could lay your hands on one document and say this contains everything that has to protect the rights of a consumer. What we have in Nigeria, are found in snippets of laws. Really, in Nigeria, we don't have adequate laws that protect customers on aviation. What mainly regulates the aviation industry in Nigeria is the International Conventions. What we have is the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which spells out the level of liability of the air carrier. That is why in some cases in courts today, the airline operators always have advantage over the passengers because of the issue of claiming liabilities. Before you could prove it, there are some conditions attached to it that make it very difficult. The incident now calls on the National Assembly to begin to domesticate some of these international conventions to fit into our local environment. As I am talking to you, we don't have local laws that cover the aviation industry, we are only covered by international conventions, and the most recent one is the Montreal Convention.Complaints have been made about the psychological state of pilots, are there conventions or laws that regulate the pilots'We don't have laws, but what we have is what we call guidelines, which are being handed out by NCAA from time to time. They are like handbooks given to employees that contain the rules and regulations that guide both the employer and the employee. The NCAA, by the laws establishing it, is supposed to from time to time ensure compliance. The issue of aviation industry is not something that you have to wait until it is passed into law, because it takes time for a bill to be passed into law. The NCAA is supposed to come out with guidelines that will regulate the operators from time to time. Like this incident that just happened, NCAA is supposed to come out with another guideline for the operators after reports of the investigations are made public. I am sure that such things are in operation but because of the systematic rot I spoke about earlier, most of these things are not strictly adhered to.It is like the telecommunications industry, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) often comes out with guidelines on what it does, which it issues to the operators. Remember what happened last time when major telecommunications operators were fined for defrauding Nigerian consumers.These are not things that are found in any law, but they are mere guidelines that are being handed out by the regulatory agencies.In most cases, these guidelines come as a result of discussions by both the regulator and operator in a forum or symposium. For example, they can discuss the issue of delayed flight in such forum and come out with a resolution on the need to compensate passengers. They can decide to make the issue of air flight catering services for passengers compulsory for all airlines. There is, therefore, the need for frequent interaction between the operators and the regulator in this regard. I have attended one of such fora at the Lagos Airport Hotel organised by NCAA, where some of these issues were canvassed and discussed. The airlines came up with one or two things and at the end of the day, there was an agreement and that formed the basis of a guideline. It does not necessarily mean there will be law, so everybody, both the operator and regulator, is supposed to abide by whatever thing that is agreed by such guidelines, which are given by NCAA.The problem has been the issue of corruption, which has hindered the implementation of some of these guidelines.As a consumer rights advocate, are you satisfied with the manner the incident is being handled as it relates to families of the victims'There is a saying that 'if you want to access the level of development of any nation, you have to look at the nature of its legal system and how the government enforces it.' In this part of the world, a lot of things are taken for granted. Most of the things that are happening in this country, ordinarily cannot happen in India where the owners of this particular airline come from. The Indian government and its regulatory agencies will ensure that rules and regulations are complied with to the fullest. But because the operators of this airline understand the system, they will say that is a country where anything goes. I think part of the problems goes to the way the Nigerian government even regards its citizens. It is like a family man, it is the way you regard your family that people outside will regard you, as well as your family members. So, it is a country where because of the rots in the system, most of these multinational companies that come here to do business, don't try most of the things they do here in their own country. It is only in Nigeria that you will see some multi-nationals selling sub-standard goods. Until our government begins to take the interest of Nigerians seriously, this kind of thing will continue.For instance, look at what is happening where over 1,000 Nigerians are said to be in jail in China. Even if they committed any crime, the Nigerian government should have, at least, shown interest and known what brought about that and the circumstances under which they were jailed. But here, you see Nigerian government just keeping quiet. Most of them that are jailed don't understand Chinese language and it is a universal cardinal principle of law that there must be fair-hearing before they are convicted. One would have expected a caring government to set up a visitation committee that will go to find out the circumstances, the nature and status of these infringements so that we know whether some of them were fairly or unfairly taken to jail. But here nothing happens, so it goes to show that we have a government that is not sensitive. Until our government begins to take us seriously, outsiders will not take us seriously.But the House of Representatives has intervened by giving the management of Dana Airline ultimatum to pay compensation to the families of the passengers of the ill-fated aircraft'Though the intervention of the National Assembly is commendable, the issue of payment of compensation in the aviation industry is something that is guided by International Convention. There is no doubt about it. Even in your tickets, you will see where those things are spelt out. So, it is only a matter of 'if it doesn't do it, you go to court to enforce it.'Is there any law that spells out the time limit for the payment of these compensations'It still boils down to the issue of insensitivity on the part of government. The regulatory agency is supposed to be monitoring these airlines from time to time to see if the airlines are up-to-date in the payment of their insurance premiums they have with their foreign partners.There was a case we handled about 10 years ago, involving Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) when its warehouse was burnt at the International Airport. The compensation was paid on time after investigations were conducted on the incident.You don't expect compensation from the insurance companies when you are not paying your premiums. These are some of the things the regulatory agencies should ensure every year. They should ensure that airlines are up-to-date with their obligations to the insurance companies every year in case of such incidents. So categorically, one will not know whether Dana Airline is complying with the obligation with the insurance companies.In SAHCOL's case, one of the first things we did was to write the insurance underwriters in the United States (U.S.) with the evidence of compliance that these people are up-to-date, so within a space of time, the whole thing was concluded and compensation was paid.In this particular case, we need to find out whether Dana Airline was in full compliance with their insurance policy.The Lagos State government recently began a Coroner inquest into the incident. Do you think this is a step in the right direction'We have Coroner laws in Lagos State that make for such provision, especially where a cause of death of somebody is suspicious or of unnatural cause or circumstances. It has happened in the case of the accident that occurred along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway involving Dangote Transport Company and you remember what happened in that case. How the Chief Magistrate directed that compensation be paid to victims. So, I think what the Lagos State government has done is within the ambit of the law. The Coroner court will now determine the circumstance surrounding the incident and make findings and recommendations so as to avert a repeat or reoccurrence of this kind of thing in future. The court will come out with its findings, which the regulatory agencies will take a cue from. The court will likely come out with a directive that NCAA should from time to time ensure that airlines must be compliant with their obligations to the insurance companies. These are some of the things we will get from the Coroner inquest.Is such an inquest timely in conformity with the laws as regards the industry that is controlled by international conventions'What the Coroner laws say is that once there is any occurrence of death that happens in a very suspicious way or unnatural manner, the Coroner should conduct an inquest. So far as the lives of Nigerians are involved, there is no exclusion clause in the Coroner law that excludes the aviation industry. What the government is doing is still in tandem with the provision of the law. I have cited an example of the recent accident that occurred place along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, to the extent that there is no exclusion, because there is a way that the law operates, the law will say, 'subject to the provisions and make exclusion.'So far, the Coroner law of Lagos State does not make exclusion for any industry or social class, if it has, the issue would have been raised and even the Coroner court would have declined jurisdiction. For the court to even assume jurisdiction, it presupposes that it has the powers to do that and the essence of all these is to come out with findings and recommendations that will avert a reoccurrence. If there is any area the Coroner finds out that regulatory agencies do not do their jobs, it will issue directives that in future, there must be routine maintenance checks of the age of the aircraft and the pilots.Is there any liability on the part of the airliner for those killed in their houses as a result of the crash'That is what we call third party in insurance. Yes, it depends on the kind of insurance policy that the airline entered. Whether it was a comprehensive insurance or third party. That will now determine the liability. If it was a comprehensive one, which involves third party, then yes, but most times, it is just like your car insurance. That is why we have different classes of insurance policy. It depends on the type of insurance Dana Airline entered. If it entered the one that is all-embracing, that covers third party. Of course, that is third party obligation, the airline must meet it, even though morally, it still behoves on Lagos State government to still do something to alleviate the suffering, it is not legally binding on the government.Can the victims approach the courts for a redress'Of course, they have the legal rights to sue the airline for trespass or easement committed against them.How do you react to the recent probe on the incident set up by the National Assembly bearing in mind that previous ones had not seen the light of day'It is a very laughable and sordid development. I was watching the probe proceedings live on television where I saw the director in charge of the Accident Investigation Bureau making submissions before the Joint Committee on Dana Airline and Allied Airline that was set up by the National Assembly, saying that after about eight to 12 years of accidents that took place in the past, the results have not been released. Nigeria is becoming a country of drama. We are fond of playing drama in everything. This kind of thing happened in Nigeria because the Accident Investigative Bureau, which is supposed to report directly to the Minister of Aviation, perhaps did not, and we have always had policy summersault every time. Within that period and now, how many aviation ministers have we had' We have occasions where the director-general of NCAA was asked at the floor of that proceeding whether the age limit of 22 years for aircraft was in our laws, and he said no, adding that it was a ministerial directive by the then Minister of Aviation. So, by the time we begin to do things that way, by relying on ministerial directive that does not amount to legislation, it shows that we are not serious. By now, the man that is in charge of the Accident Investigation Bureau is not supposed to be on that seat. Is it not a gross negligence and dereliction of duty that reports of accidents that happened several years are not out' Well, it is not a surprise to most of us because most of these probes they set up will not see the light of day. So Nigeria is just a country of games and dramas, because before you know it, the dramatic personae, who are involved, will know what to do, just as we are seeing in the subsidy probes. It will never see the light of day. Ndudi Elumelu's case did not see the light of day.You just mentioned the bribery allegation that is trailing the oil subsidy probe, what are the legal implications of this unfolding drama'There are so many postulations and theories to that unfolding drama. What we were told before was that Farouk Lawan, the chairman of the Adhoc Committee probing the subsidy issue approached Femi Otedola, asking him to bring money so that his company's name would be removed from the list and that after much pressure, Mr. Otedola staged a sting operation with State Security Service (SSS) and the money was given in trenches. Now, there are a lot of questions that are begging for answers. The first one is that when the bubble burst, why was the issue not referred to SSS for investigation' Why was the case not taken to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)' But all of a sudden and surprisingly too, a special squad was set up in Force Headquarters to investigate the matter' One will now begin to see a lot of disconnections in this case. SSS was used to carry out the sting operation, during investigation normally, just like in other cases involving Elumelu, Hembe, they will always be referred to EFCC. Why was this particular case referred to special squad' Who set up the special squad and under whose headship' So, you begin to see that though there is what we call in law agent provocateur, which under special circumstance, the state could set up a body to do secret work and hide under the state's security apparatus to carry out crime investigation with a view to determining the culpability of the characters involved.What should be done in this bribery allegation'We have not yet unravelled the mystery in this case. What I think should be done is to bring both the giver and the taker to be drilled by the security agency to determine what actually happened. Right now, the way things are going, we should not also forget that it is something that has to do with cabals. It is easy even in Colombia to fight with drug barons, you don't easily get away with it. Don't forget the probe is a battle against the mighty, the powerful, the strong and financier of this country. They will not sit back and watch themselves to be exposed. So, we have to juxtapose this with the so-called sting operation and the cabal that cannot easily be exposed.
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