Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest airline, has assured the public that recent legal charges against its founder, Allen Onyema, will not impact the safety, reliability, or day-to-day operations of the airline.
This statement comes in response to additional charges filed by the United States government against Onyema and the airline’s Chief of Finance and Administration, Ejiro Eghagha, in an ongoing $20 million bank fraud case.
Allen Onyema has been under scrutiny since 2019 when he was first charged with bank fraud and money laundering.
These allegations stem from claims that he used his position and resources at Air Peace to orchestrate fraudulent activities aimed at misleading the U.S. banking system.
Although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing, the legal battle continues, and he is currently wanted by U.S. authorities.
The situation escalated recently when, on October 8, 2024, both Onyema and Eghagha were hit with a superseding indictment. This new indictment includes additional charges: one count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, these charges are in connection with Onyema allegedly submitting false documents to halt an investigation into his activities.
Prosecutors claim that these false documents were submitted in 2019 as part of an effort to prevent authorities from pursuing the bank fraud case and to unfreeze accounts that had been linked to the alleged fraud.
The U.S. Attorney, Ryan K. Buchanan, stated, “After allegedly using his airline company as a cover to commit fraud on the United States’ banking system, Onyema, along with his co-defendant, allegedly committed additional crimes of fraud in a failed attempt to derail the government’s investigation of his conduct.”
Ejiro Eghagha, who is also implicated in the case, is accused of being involved in both the initial fraud and the subsequent obstruction of justice.
Air Peace’s management emphasized in their statement that the ongoing legal issues are merely allegations and that both Onyema and Eghagha are innocent until proven guilty. They affirmed that the airline remains operational and focused on delivering high-quality service to customers despite the legal challenges.
The airline’s statement read: “These charges levelled against our post-holders are part of an extended legal process stemming from earlier accusations of financial misdeeds that date back several years. We want to reassure the public that these legal proceedings will not impact the safety, reliability, or day-to-day operations of Air Peace.”
Since the initial charges were filed, Onyema’s legal troubles have continued to mount. Notably, a co-defendant in the case, Ebony Mayfield, was sentenced to three years of probation in September 2022 for her role in facilitating the alleged fraud.
Her sentence was reduced because she had pleaded guilty early in the process, citing cooperation with authorities. Mayfield claimed she only received $20,000 for her involvement in the conspiracy, emphasizing that her actions were not motivated by financial gain.
While Mayfield has faced the consequences of her actions, Onyema and Eghagha have been evading arrest since the charges were made public. The U.S. government issued multiple arrest warrants, but both men have managed to avoid capture. In the meantime, prosecutors have filed a superseding indictment, which increases the total number of counts against them to 38.
The charges allege that Onyema moved suspicious funds from Nigeria to U.S. bank accounts, disguising these transactions as payments for aircraft purchases. U.S. prosecutors claim that the funds, which were allegedly meant for Air Peace, were instead used to benefit Onyema personally through a company he owns called Springfield Aviation LLC. They allege that he made numerous transfers of large sums of money under false pretenses.
Court documents indicate that Onyema and Eghagha submitted fabricated purchase agreements, false valuation documents, and other misleading information to American banks. Prosecutors have stated that they attempted to influence bank actions by willfully misrepresenting the value of property associated with these transactions.
