Private airline XEJet Limited has opened two legal fronts at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory against Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc and the Aviation Ground Handlers Association of Nigeria, accusing them of breaches arising from a dispute over ground handling charges and information relating to the airline’s account.
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In the first suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/4506/2026, XEJet sued Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc, commonly known as SAHCO, over an alleged breach of confidentiality and what the airline describes as the wrongful withdrawal of ground handling services on September 28, 2026.
The airline is asking the court to interpret provisions of the Standard Ground Handling Agreement between the parties and determine whether information relating to its account with SAHCO was protected as confidential information which could not lawfully be disclosed to third parties without its written consent.
XEJet, through its counsel, Alex Izinyon II, Esq., raised seven questions for determination and sought 11 reliefs against SAHCO.
At the heart of the case is Paragraph 13.1 of Annex B 1.1 to the Standard Ground Handling Agreement between both companies, effective January 1, 2026.
XEJet wants the court to determine whether its invoices, statements of account, amounts invoiced, sums paid and outstanding, payment history, communications and payment proposals fall within information which SAHCO agreed to keep permanently confidential.
The airline is also asking the court to determine whether SAHCO breached that obligation by allegedly disclosing information concerning XEJet’s account to AGHAN, its officers or members, which the association allegedly relied upon in a statement issued on September 28.
Another question before the court concerns Paragraph 4.2 of the agreement and whether an exclusion of liability for loss of profits, revenue, business and goodwill can protect SAHCO where the alleged breach of confidentiality was committed negligently or through wilful misconduct.
XEJet is seeking a declaration that information concerning its account with SAHCO, including invoices, account statements, amounts invoiced or outstanding, its payment history and communications, is confidential information which SAHCO is permanently bound to protect.
It also wants the court to declare that SAHCO cannot disclose such information to AGHAN, its officers, members, the press or any other third party without XEJet’s prior written consent, except where the agreement itself permits such disclosure.
The airline further seeks a declaration that SAHCO’s alleged disclosure of its account information to AGHAN amounted to a breach of Paragraph 13.1 and that the alleged breach was committed with wilful misconduct or, alternatively, negligently within the meaning of Paragraph 4.2.
XEJet is also asking for a perpetual injunction restraining SAHCO, its directors, officers, employees, agents or anyone acting through it from making any further disclosure of information concerning the airline’s account, except as permitted by the agreement.
For the alleged confidentiality breach, XEJet is claiming ₦1 billion in general damages.
It is separately asking for ₦100 million in general damages over what it describes as the wrongful withdrawal of ground handling services on September 28.
In an affidavit supporting the originating summons, XEJet Group Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Ayuba Iza, said the airline and SAHCO were parties to a Standard Ground Handling Agreement comprising Annex B 1.1 covering locations, agreed services and charges, which became effective on January 1, 2026.
According to the affidavit, the agreement also incorporated the Main Agreement and Annex A of the January 2018 Standard Ground Handling Agreement published by the International Air Transport Association.
Under the arrangement, SAHCO was to provide ground handling services for XEJet’s aircraft, passengers and baggage at Abuja, Lagos, Benin, Asaba and Warri airports.
Those services included passenger and baggage handling, aircraft marshalling, loading and unloading, towing and push-back operations, as well as load control.
Iza told the court that SAHCO wrote XEJet on September 4, 2026, through a letter referenced SAH/4U/MD/04-09/255, requesting settlement of invoices reflected in a statement of account as of August 15.
According to him, SAHCO asked for payment on or before September 10 and invited XEJet to raise any queries concerning the account within the same period.
XEJet said that after receiving the letter, it entered discussions with SAHCO and began a joint reconciliation exercise to establish, invoice by invoice, the amount actually outstanding.
The airline said SAHCO did not suspend its services after September 10 and continued providing ground handling services while both sides remained in discussions.
A second letter dated September 23, referenced SAH/4U/MD/23-09/257, was subsequently sent to XEJet.
According to the airline, SAHCO requested payment within three working days, on or before September 28, and warned that services would be suspended if it did not receive payment “or a satisfactory payment arrangement” within that period.
XEJet, however, alleges that from about 8 a.m. on September 28, before the period stated in the letter had expired, SAHCO withdrew its ground handling services at airports across Nigeria.
The airline further claims that despite the withdrawal, it made two payments to SAHCO on the same day, totalling ₦7 million.
The payments comprised transfers of ₦2 million and ₦5 million, both described as payments for “Ground handling outstanding.”
XEJet said the payments were made within the period specified by SAHCO and were part of efforts towards a payment arrangement.
The dispute has now gone beyond XEJet’s contractual relationship with SAHCO.
In a separate action, the airline has sued the Incorporated Trustees of the Aviation Ground Handlers Association of Nigeria over information allegedly released to the media and members of the public about the airline’s account.
In that case, XEJet is claiming ₦15 billion in general, aggravated and exemplary damages.
SAHCO is a member of AGHAN, and XEJet alleges that the association issued a joint statement through its President and Vice President on September 28 which contained information concerning the airline’s commercial account.
The airline maintains that at the time the publications were made, it and SAHCO were still engaged in discussions over the account.
XEJet also said it did not owe any other member of AGHAN.
According to its statement of claim, no final payment plan had been concluded between XEJet and either SAHCO or AGHAN before the publication complained of.
The airline said it had only proposed payment terms and had already started making payments on the account.
It further claimed that it was never served with, nor did it become a party to, any notice or arrangement arising from AGHAN’s September 2026 ultimatum.
XEJet told the court that between September 28 and 29, it paid SAHCO a total of ₦215,898,420.25 through five bank transfers in what it described as full settlement of the account.
According to the airline, the first two transfers, totalling ₦7 million, were received by SAHCO on September 28, within the period stipulated in SAHCO’s September 23 letter.
The remaining three transfers, amounting to ₦208,898,420.25, were paid the following day, September 29.
XEJet alleges that despite the ongoing discussions and payments, AGHAN issued its September 28 statement through its President and Vice President and released it to the press knowing that it would be republished by national newspapers and online news platforms.
The airline’s claims against both SAHCO and AGHAN remain allegations awaiting determination by the FCT High Court. Neither the filing of the suits nor the claims for damages amount to judicial findings that either defendant breached the agreement, disclosed confidential information unlawfully or published false information.
Taken together, XEJet is seeking ₦16.1 billion in damages across the two actions: ₦1 billion for the alleged confidentiality breach, ₦100 million over the withdrawal of ground handling services, and ₦15 billion in the separate claim against AGHAN over the disputed publication.
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