Charges against Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema still stand – U.S. authorities

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has refuted claims made by Nigerian media that the legal case against Air Peace chairman and CEO Allen Onyema, along with the airline’s chief of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, has been dropped.

The office clarified that the charges remain, and Onyema and Eghagha are now facing additional allegations related to obstruction of justice.

In a statement issued in response to a query, the public affairs office confirmed that arrest warrants for Onyema and Eghagha are still in effect.

The two executives are accused of submitting false documents to impede a federal investigation, leading to the 2019 indictment that includes 35 charges of bank fraud and money laundering.

Despite these legal developments, several Nigerian media outlets falsely reported on October 22 that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia had cleared Onyema of any business fraud.

The reports misrepresented old claims made by the law firm AO Alegho and Co., which had previously responded to the sentencing of U.S. citizen Ebony Mayfield, a former employee of Springfield Aviation, a U.S.-based company linked to Onyema.

Mayfield was sentenced in 2022 to three years’ probation and fined $4,000 after pleading guilty to signing fake documents connected to a $20 million Air Peace transaction involving five Boeing 737 aircraft in 2016.

While the media reports suggest that no bank losses were incurred, the U.S. legal process against Onyema and Eghagha is ongoing, with new charges complicating the case further.