Reps order Dana Air to pay families of crash victims

THE House of Representatives has ordered the authorities of Dana Air to commence the immediate payment of the required compensation to families of the victims of the aircraft that crashed in Lagos on June 3, 2012, killing 153 on board.During its plenary session yesterday, the chamber adopted a resolution on a motion sponsored by Yakub Abiodun and ordered the management of Dana airline to pay 30 per cent of compensation due to victims of the plane crash on or before July 3, 2012.

The House said the Montreal Convention for the unification of certain rules for international carriage by air, which Nigeria is a party to, specifies that in case of crash, victims and families of victims be paid 30 per cent of total compensation within one month before the completion of investigation.

Leading debate on the motion, Abiodun had pointed out that his prayer was in line with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act, which according to him, stipulates that 30 per cent of due compensation be paid to families of airborne crash victims within 30 days, while investigation into the cause of such accidents lasts.

Similarly, the parliament directed all other airlines who had had plane crashes in the past to comply with the laws by paying the 30 per cent of the required compensation, or in full where investigations had been concluded.

The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, also called the Montreal Convention, adopted by a diplomatic meeting of member states of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 1999, stipulated a Special Drawing Rights (SDR) for victims of air crash. The current value is put at about $171,000 per passenger.

The lawmaker who moved the motion under matters of urgent public importance argued that since Section 48 of the Civil Aviation Act stipulates that an advance payment of 30 per cent of the SDR be made within 30 days, it was important that the chamber urge the management of Dana Air to comply immediately.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor who also spoke in favour of the motion, however, said that there was an urgent need to domesticate all international conventions or treaties entered by Nigeria with a view to giving them the force of law, as according to him, issues like this would be easily dealt with when they arise.

Other lawmakers including Haruna Kigbu, Nnena Elendu-Ukeje, Musa Sarki Adar, Peter Edeh and Kingsley Chinda in their separate submissions described the development as unfortunate, adding that it would amount to irresponsibility on the part of the House if nothing was done to compel Dana Air to act immediately, especially in the face of the trauma still being faced by families of victims who were yet to identify the remains of their loved ones. While Elendu Ukeje described the compensation as a moral contract that must be complied with, Kigbu said: “Dana should soothe some of the pains of the victims’ families in this moment of grief,”

He added that it was unfortunate that almost a month after the tragic incident, such a requirement stipulated by law was yet to be complied with.

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