Alberta Aviation Capital Corporation, Canada (AAC) and Merchant Express Cargo Limited have said that they jointly appointed Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, the former Rector of the Nige­rian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria to teardown the controver­sial CRJ 1000 aircraft MSN 19037.

The companies in a joint statement by their media con­sultant in Nigeria, insisted that the controversial aircraft belonged to the two compa­nies, having been deregistered by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) from its registry on July 22, 2022 due to the defaults in Arik Air’s obli­gations.

It said the deregistration of the aircraft received the consent of its lien holder – the Export De­velopment Canada (EDC).

The firms declared that the recovery of the aircraft followed the due process, stressing that until contact­ed, Caulcrick had no link with the cancelled lease agreement between the EDC and Arik Air.

The statement said: “We categorically state that Capt. Caulcrick was an authorised agent of the new Canadian owners (AAC) of the aircraft and the process for the recov­ery of the aircraft followed all due process, all of which are properly documented.

“Until contracted on the teardown project, neither Merchant Express nor Capt. Caulcrick had nothing to do with the cancelled lease or the de-registration of the aircraft by the NCAA.

“We condemn in its en­tirety the efforts by the founder of Arik Air, Sir Aru­mem-Johnson, whose airline is under receivership and his lawyers, to use the Economic and Financial Crimes Com­mission (EFCC) and some sections to intimidate the authorised agents of the le­gal owners of aircraft in an effort to stop the owners from taking their aircraft in what­ever form they choose back to Canada.”

The statement described Caulcrick as an outstanding aviator that had worked all his life to protect the integri­ty and preserve the sanctity of the aviation industry in Nigeria.

The firms advised the Arik Air founder to approach the courts for an injunction to stop the teardown, rather than using the EFCC to hound down the officials of the As­set Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and its clients.

The firms expressed that such tactics deployed by Ar­umem-Ikhide would only harm the aviation industry and could increase leases and insurance costs for future aircraft leasing for Nigerian operators.