The legal troubles of Allen Onyeama, the CEO of Nigeria’s Air Peace, continue to mount as a U.S. court renewed an arrest warrant against him in October 2024. The federal district court for Northern Georgia filed a superseding indictment, which added new charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to the existing case against him. The renewed warrant stems from a $20 million bank fraud investigation that has been ongoing for over five years.
Onyeama and his co-defendant, Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, now face a total of 38 charges, including conspiracy, money laundering, bank fraud, and identity theft. The charges relate to a fraudulent transfer of funds from Nigeria to U.S. bank accounts between 2017 and 2018, allegedly disguised as aircraft purchases. The charges also accuse the duo of making false statements and submitting fabricated documents to American banks.
These developments mark the latest chapter in a legal saga that began with an arrest warrant issued against Onyeama in 2019. The U.S. prosecutors have sought the warrant to allow Canadian authorities to take the suspects into custody should they be found in their jurisdiction. Despite the ongoing legal issues, Onyeama continues to face the serious allegations, with the case expected to have significant ramifications for both him and Air Peace.
