The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an arrest warrant for Jacky Ramesh Hathiramani, the former managing director of dormant Dana Air (9J, Lagos), following his repeated failure to appear in court to respond to longstanding financial crime charges involving a total sum of NGN1.37 billion naira (USD825,000).
Hathiramani, who was due to appear in court again on November 4, appears to have left the country, prompting Judge Obiora Egwuatu to order his arrest and reappearance in court on January 13, 2025, according to numerous Nigerian news reports. In the absence of his client, Hathiramani's advocate, Bidemi Ademola-Bello, confirmed he was out of the country and filed a preliminary objection challenging both the charges and the court's jurisdiction to hear the case.
He declined to comment when approached by ch-aviation.
First filed by the federal government in March 2021, the case (FHC/ABJ/CR/101/2021) against Hathiramani (first defendant), Dana Group PLC (second defendant), and Dana Steel Limited (third defendant) concerns six counts of alleged financial misconduct between 2014 and 2018. In particular, the charges relate to the alleged fraudulent sale of industrial generators valued at NGN450 million (USD271,000), the alleged diversion of NGN864 million (USD520,000) intended for the Dana Steel rolling factory in Katsina, and the alleged unlawful transfer of NGN60.3 million (USD36,000) into a bank account.
Responding to a request for comment, Hathiramani and his legal advisor Phina Itumo said that the case had no relation to Dana Air and that Hathiramani had resigned from his positions as managing director of both the airline and parent Dana Group in April 2024, effective from May 1. However, Hathiramani's emails to ch-aviation on October 18 still indicated his position as MD/CEO of Dana Group, while the company's website also still reflects this status.
Itumo clarified that Dana Group, an industrial conglomerate in Nigeria, had never owned shares in Dana Air, asserting that the lawsuit was a commercial matter between Dana Steel Limited (a Dana Group subsidiary) and a commercial bank (Ecobank), and that the airline was not involved in the case. She also pointed to a prior letter from January 2024, refuting earlier media reports. She claimed that the parties involved in the dispute had reached a settlement.
However, according to a string of Nigerian news reports, the 2021 case remains open. Hathiramani was initially ordered to appear before the Federal High Court on June 30, 2021, and again on October 13 of the same year in connection with the charges.
During the November 4 hearing, High Court judge Obiora Egwuatu was cited as follows: "The first defendant is bound to appear before the court, and if he does not, the court can issue a warrant for his arrest. Accordingly and relying on provisions of the law, I hereby issue a warrant for the arrest of the first defendant."
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed that Dana Air's air operator's certificate (AOC) has been suspended but not revoked and remains valid until November 27, 2027. In May 2024, the airline furloughed employees after the NCAA grounded it on April 24 following a runway excursion at Lagos. In March 2023, Dana Air suspended operations with its entire fleet in maintenance. In mid-2022, the NCAA suspended its operating licence and AOC for failing to meet financial and safety standards. The airline's former fleet included one B737-300 leased from Aerolux, one company-owned MD-82 stored in Lagos, and three MD-83s (one crashed in 2012, one is beyond repair, and one is stored in Lagos), according to ch-aviation fleets data.
