Nigeria has dropped a criminal case against the Dana Group of Companies, its CEO and managing director Jacky Ranesh Hathiramani, and affiliated firm Dana Steel Ltd., following a settlement between the parties, according to a certified copy of a court document the company's lawyer shared with ch-aviation.
The case (ID/23793C/25) in the High Court of Lagos State was struck off by Judge Olalekan Ijelu of the Ikeja Judicial Division on October 7, 2025, after the prosecution agreed to a defence application that charges be withdrawn. Ijelu noted that the matter was struck out for "want of diligent prosecution".
Hathiramani is the former managing director of dormant Dana Air (DAN, Lagos), grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in April 2024 following safety and operational concerns.
In November 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an arrest warrant for Hathiramani after he repeatedly failed to appear in court to face NGN1.37 billion naira (USD994,000) in financial charges.
The federal government had filed the case in March 2021 against Hathiramani, Dana Group, and Dana Steel, accusing them of six counts of alleged financial misconduct between 2014 and 2018, including the alleged fraudulent sale of NGN450 million (USD326,000) worth of generators, diversion of NGN864 million (USD626,000) for a steel factory in Katsina, and an alleged unlawful transfer of NGN60.3 million (USD44,000).
Hathiramani and his legal advisor Phina Itumo stressed the case had no relation to Dana Air and that Hathiramani had resigned from his positions as managing director of both the airline and Dana Group in April 2024. However, Hathiramani's emails to ch-aviation in March 2026 still reflect his position as MD/CEO of Dana Group.
In November 2025, Nigeria’s aviation minister, Festus Keyama, suggested the federal government recover and sell the assets of the suspended carrier to repay passengers and travel agents who are still owed refunds.
The company-owned and grounded Dana Air fleet includes one MD-82 and three MD-83s, while one B737-300 leased from Aerolux has been stored at Naples Capodichino since May 2023, according to ADS-B data.
