The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were flown for free of charge around Nigeria by an airline company whose boss is allegedly wanted in the United States on fraud charges
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were flown free of charge around Nigeria by an airline company whose boss is reportedly wanted in the United States.
Dr. Allen Onyema, founder of Nigerian airline Air Peace, gave the Sussexes flights around the country during their three-day trip where Harry was celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. During their tour, the Sussexes visited a secondary school in Abuja to open an event on mental health and Harry played a game of sitting volleyball with injured servicemen.
The Duke and Duchess also spoke at a reception and Meghan co-hosted a women’s leadership event and revealed a genealogy test showed she had Nigerian heritage. The Sussexes took British Airways to and from Nigeria but the courtesy flights were provided by Air Peace whose owner Dr Onyema faces multiple charges over alleged fraud involving millions of dollars in an indictment dating from November, 2019, it is reported.
There is no reason to believe that Harry or Meghan would have known about the charges facing the owner of the airline. Onyema is alleged to have been ‘using his status as a prominent business leader and airline executive to launder more than $20million from Nigeria through US bank accounts’, in the indictment, reported the Mail.
It comes as the Sussexes have been criticised for the environmental impact of using the private flights. They and their handful of companions on a 120-seat plane on a 664-mile round trip. The return journey from the capital Abuja to Lagos on May 12 pumped out about 12 tonnes in carbon emissions and the average annual global carbon footprint is roughly four tonnes per person.
The Duke and Duchess are known for speaking out against climate change. In 2019 they launched the Travalyst initiative, which urged the tourism industry to be more sustainable. Stanley Olisa, of Air Peace, explained how the Sussexes were given the free flights during their three-day tour of Nigeria to celebrate 10 years of Harry’s Invictus Games .
He said: “The planes were chartered. It was just the royals and their entourage. They were not flying with other passengers. We understand that they are royals so we gave them top-tier treatment on board. They were given everything they wanted. It was an exclusive experience. And we flew them back to Abuja in the evening. Everything was complimentary.”
Air Vice Marshal Abidemi Marquis, director of sports for the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, was with Harry and Meghan on the 42-metre Embraer E195-E2 and said: “There were maybe 15 or 20 of us on the flight.” Mr Olisa said: “The chairman of Air Peace gave Prince Harry and his wonderful wife Meghan free flights to Lagos and back as part of his contribution to the successful hosting of the couple.”