Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, has weighed in on the heated clash between music legend King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (KWAM1) and ValueJet staff at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
Keyamo said he had received full reports from aviation agencies, plus video footage of the incident. His early take? “It was clearly a moment of lost sanity and control on both sides — a situation that could have ended in tragedy.”
According to the minister, KWAM1 repeatedly moved around on the tarmac to deliberately block an aircraft from taxiing onto the runway for take-off — behaviour he called “totally unacceptable… akin to a hostage situation.” He dismissed debates over whether the Fuji star was holding alcohol or water, saying the real issue was obstructing an aircraft’s movement.
But Keyamo also faulted the pilots. “No matter the provocation, the captain should never start taxiing until security has cleared an unruly passenger from the front of an aircraft,” he said, noting that both parties violated International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety protocols.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has already suspended the pilots’ licences pending investigation — a move Keyamo praised — but he questioned why KWAM1 had not faced similar sanctions. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” he said.
In a dramatic twist, Keyamo has now ordered the NCAA to place KWAM1 on a no-fly list until investigations are complete. Airlines, both local and international, have been told to enforce the ban or risk losing their operating licences.
