Nigeria is steadily sliding into a culture of impunity, where individuals and associations act as though the country were a lawless state.

The latest example is the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) announcing that it had placed a lady involved in a physical altercation on a so-called “No Fly” list. Let it be stated unequivocally: no provision of the Civil Aviation Act, 2022 or any other existing Nigerian law grants AON, a voluntary trade association, the power to impose a No Fly ban on any person. Such an act is reckless and a direct affront to the Nigerian Constitution, especially the fundamental rights of the individual concerned.

The only body empowered to issue and enforce nationwide flight restrictions is the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), pursuant to Sections 31 and 32 of the Civil Aviation Act, 2022. AON is not a statutory regulator and has no legal mandate to unilaterally curtail the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of movement under Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Equally troubling is the hasty arraignment and remand of the lady without giving her adequate time and facilities to prepare her defence. This is a clear abuse of judicial process and a violation of her constitutional right to fair hearing under Section 36 of the Constitution. Such shortcuts not only weaken public confidence in the justice system but also embolden lawlessness, where institutions and actors operate outside their legal boundaries without consequence.

In every dispute, there are two sides to the story. Even a native doctor cannot declare who is right or wrong without hearing both sides. Justice must remain the bedrock of our society anything less is an open invitation to anarchy.