Fuji music legend and close ally of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal popularly known as Kwam 1 or K1 De Ultimate could face life imprisonment or a minimum of 10 years in prison if the Federal Government applies the law without bias, legal expert and writer Abdul Mahmud has said.
In a strongly worded statement released on Thursday, Mahmud urged authorities to prosecute the musician under Section 33 of the Civil Aviation Act, 2022, for allegedly endangering lives during a recent incident on an airport runway.
The Abuja-based lawyer condemned Kwam 1’s reported conduct, describing it as a serious threat to aviation safety and a clear violation of criminal law.
“The law must be upheld regardless of who is involved,” Mahmud asserted, criticizing what he described as efforts to trivialize the incident with only a flight ban. He argued that such a severe breach demands full legal accountability, not lenient administrative penalties.
Quoting the Civil Aviation Act, Mahmud explained “A person commits an offence if he or she does any act or omission which endangers or is likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight, taxiing, landing, or taking off.”
He further stressed that this category of offence is considered a strict liability crime, meaning the act itself regardless of intent is enough to warrant conviction.
“A drunken man, inflated by his fantasy of influence, decided to confront an aircraft as it was preparing to taxi not on a road, but on an active runway,” Mahmud said.
“And the public response is to suggest a ban? This is not a time for symbolic gestures. This is a serious criminal act. A violation of the Civil Aviation Act, 2022, which prescribes life imprisonment or a minimum of 10 years behind bars.”
He concluded with a firm call for accountability “If found guilty, Kwam 1 must face the full weight of the law. No ifs, no buts.”
The incident, which occurred on August 5 at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, involved a scheduled ValueJet flight and has triggered nationwide debate. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has already suspended two pilots involved.
According to SaharaReporters, the confrontation began when flight crew asked the musician to surrender a personal flask suspected to contain alcohol banned on domestic flights. Kwam 1 reportedly refused, claiming it held medication prescribed by a doctor. Following noncompliance, he was deboarded.
What followed was more alarming. Eyewitnesses claim the musician stormed onto the tarmac and attempted to block the aircraft from taking off. Some witnesses described his actions as “entitled, dangerous, and thuggish,” reporting that he stood in front of the moving plane.
Airport staff and Kwam 1 reportedly had to duck under the aircraft’s wings as the pilots began taxiing reportedly without clearance from the control tower.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed the incident in a statement issued by its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mrs. Obiageli Orah.
According to FAAN, the musician even spilled alcohol on aviation staff during the confrontation, escalating the situation further.
Public and legal scrutiny over the case continues to intensify, with growing calls for both regulatory agencies and the Federal Government to ensure the law is enforced fully and without favoritism.
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