Nigeria’s aviation minister, Festus Keyama, has suggested that the federal government may recover and sell the assets of suspended carrier Dana Air (DAN, Lagos) to repay passengers and travel agents who are still owed refunds.

Keyama told a fourth-quarter stakeholders' forum in Abuja on November 25 that he had directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to intensify efforts to trace and return all outstanding payments, several local newspapers reported, including Leadership, The Nation, The Guardian, and Vanguard News.

He said that Dana Air’s April 2024 grounding followed serious safety and operational findings, adding that "the priority was safety" over commercial concerns. He warned that individuals linked to the airline would not be allowed back into the sector until outstanding debts are cleared. "Let’s go after their assets," he said. "Let them sell their assets and pay people."

Dana Air's former managing director, Jacky Ramesh Hathiramani, reportedly left Nigeria after the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an arrest warrant for him in November 2024 because he had failed repeatedly to appear in court to face NGN1.37 billion naira (USD950,000) in financial charges. The case, filed in 2021, involved allegations of fraud, diversion of funds, and unlawful transfers linked to Dana Group subsidiaries between 2014 and 2018.

Hathiramani and his lawyer, Phina Itumo, told ch-aviation at the time that the legal matter was unrelated to Dana Air, insisting he had resigned from the airline and Dana Group in April 2024 and that the case concerned a commercial dispute between Dana Steel and Ecobank. Hathiramani's current whereabouts are unknown.

Meanwhile, NCAA Director-General Chris Najomo, represented by aviation security director Ben Omogo, told the stakeholders' meeting that 9,529 Dana Air passengers had received refunds or compensation between January and September 2025, with more cases pending. He said the agency had issued 11 enforcement actions and nine sanctions for consumer protection breaches during the period, and processed 515 economic authorisations.

Dana Air’s air operator's certificate (AOC) was suspended on April 24, 2024, after a runway excursion at Lagos involving MD-82 5N-BKI (msn 49482) prompted a full safety and economic audit. At the time, the NCAA said Dana Air's AOC was not revoked and remained valid until November 27, 2027.

The airline had previously suspended operations in March 2023 when its entire fleet was in maintenance, and in mid-2022, the NCAA had suspended its operating licence and AOC for failing to meet financial and safety standards.

The airline's 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 fleet data.