Some young Nigerian scholars have taken
Qatar Airways Nigeria Limited before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja
claiming about N2.9bn in damages.
The students, 13 in number, are blaming
their deportation from the Republic of the Philippines sometime in.....
November last year on the airline.
But the airline has vehemently opposed
their claims, insisting that it could not be held responsible for the
alleged irregularities in their papers, which led to their summary
detention and eventually deportation to Nigeria.
The deported students who sued are Opoola
Kayode, Ogundana Joshua, Oyeniran Eniola, Ajayi Morenikeji, Falope
Opeyemi, Ayanwoye Samuel and Agunbiade Oluwamayowa.
Others are Toki John, Obajide Joshua, Bude Adeitan, Adedoyin Damilola, Banjo Olufemi and Akinola Olamilekan.
In their statement of claim, the young
scholars, who had just finished their secondary school education in
Nigeria, said they decided to seek admission in the Republic of the
Philippines because of the problems associated with gaining admission
into Nigerian universities.
They claimed that their quest to study
abroad was tied to the sundry challenges, such as prevalent industrial
actions and lack of educational facilities, bedeviling the Nigerian
tertiary education system.
In order to activate their dream, they
approached one education consulting firm, Achievers Global Consulting
for Excellence Limited, to process their admission into foreign
varsities.
The firm, which is the first claimant in
the suit marked ID/ADR/229/2014, claimed that it successfully secured
provisional admission for the students in two universities in the
Republic of the Philippines, namely: University of Perpetual Help System
Data and University of the Cordilleras.
The firm claimed that after obtaining
letters of provisional admission from the schools, it applied for visa
for the students at the Philippines High Commission in Nigeria and it
was granted on merit.
It said that it then approached Qatar
Airways Nigeria Limited for the contract of conveying the students from
Nigeria to the Republic of the Philippines, adding that the students
paid the prescribed fees of the airline and were issued with air
tickets.
According to the firm, on November 3,
2014, the 13 students were presented with their documents for
verification at the desk of Qatar Airways, at the Murtala International
Airport.
The firm claimed that the airline did not
only certify the students as eligible to travel abroad but also passed
them as fit and proper to travel aboard its aircraft from Nigeria to the
Republic of the Philippines.
However, on arrival at Ninoy Aquino
International Airport in the Republic of the Philippines on November 4,
2014, the students were apprehended as illegal immigrants.
According to the firm, the reason adduced for their arrest was that they did not have return tickets to Nigeria.
The students were subsequently detained
by the Republic of the Philippines immigration authorities for eight
days before their eventual deportation.
Qatar airline was also said to have been fined 50,000 Peso for wrongful boarding of the students.
Both the students and the education consulting firm are blaming their ordeal on the alleged negligence of Qatar Airways.
It is their claim that the airline had
the responsibility to check and ensure that the students’ documentations
were proper before putting them on board. They added that the defendant
did not, at any time, directly or indirectly inform them of improper
documentation, non-purchase of return ticket or violation of any other
immigration rule.
The claimants also blamed their inhuman
treatment on the alleged failure of the airline to appropriately liaise
with its desk at Ninoy Aquino International Airport as mandated by the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Rules.
They are therefore praying the court for
an order directing the airline to pay them about N9m, being a refund of
their air ticket fees; the sum they used in procuring visa, the cost of
five return tickets purchased for five of the students before their
eventual deportation and the cost of filing the suit.
Apart from this, the claimants are
seeking cost of damages in the sum of N1.5bn to cover for their
“economic misfortunes, destruction of educational pursuit, destruction
of business reputation and illegal detention of the claimants occasioned
by the negligent conduct of the defendant.”
They also want a separate N500m as damages for breach of contract.
But the airline, in its statement of
defence, urged the court to not only discountenance and dismiss the
claimants’ prayers for lacking in merit and substance but to also award a
heavy cost against the claimants.
Qatar Airways, while denying having a
direct dealing with the education consulting firm, explained that its
air tickets were purchased on behalf of the firm for the students by two
travel agents: Blue Diamond Travels Limited and Beloved Travels and
Tours.
The airline maintained that its contract
with the students was limited to airlifting them to their destination,
which it accordingly did, as opposed to the claimants’ claim, that it
was the duty of the airline to see to the claimants’ proper
documentation.
Culled - Punch
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