Drug, alcohol test results spark row between Air Peace crew, NSIB

By Dickson Omobola

Cabin crew of Nigeria’s airline, Air Peace, Victory Maduneme, has refuted claims by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, that she tested positive for alcohol and cannabis, saying it is a smear campaign against the airline.

NSIB, however, maintained that releasing preliminary investigation reports was standard procedure, saying the case involving Air Peace was no different.

Both the airline staff and the Director General of the NSIB, Cap Alex Badeh Jr, spoke on Arise TV.

Speaking on the show, Maduneme said, “In aviation, a cabin crew is not supposed to take alcohol or any drug at all before coming for a flight. On July 13, which was the day of the incident, after we had landed, we had to wait for NSIB to come on board. Then they came for the investigation, and five hours later, they asked us to come into a room for them to do a test. We all went into the room, and our blood samples were taken, and our urine was also taken.

“Normally, when those kinds of (drug and alcohol) tests are done, you are supposed to get your result within a few hours or minutes, but this was not the case. 10 days later, I was called by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to come and pick up a letter.

“I went to NCAA in Lagos, and I opened the letter. I was in utter shock to see my result actually. I went to see the doctor, saying I was very shocked to see this in my result, and it was not possible for me to have this in my system.

“He asked me to go back and come back in seven days to reply to their letter. Well, I didn’t wait for the seven days. I had to respond, which was on the seventh. A few days later, I went to the office, and I was handed a letter which said I should do a reconfirmatory test.

“I accepted to do the test, and they sent me to meet a doctor, Adetunji, of Kupa Aerospace Clinic, which is the licensed clinic for this kind of test. I did the test, and it came out negative. There’s a question I need to ask NSIB: if marijuana was found in my system, were they not supposed to tell my airline?

“They are also supposed to stop me from flying because I am a risk to the passengers on board, and my licence would have been taken away from me, but no, they did not inform them (Air Peace). After two months, it is just coming out; they are spoiling the image of the airline.

“I did my test within a month, and nothing was found in my system. If NSIB had a smear campaign against the airline, they should keep the innocent people away from this. In the next 72 hours, if NSIB does not come and reiterate whatever they have said against me, then I think we should sue.

This is really very bad. This is pure defamation of character.”

Also speaking, co-pilot David Bernard said, “I don’t take alcohol or any drugs. I do not drink, and second of all, we are in 2025. If you are trying to do an alcohol and blood test, we have something called a breathalyser where you have to do your test right there. You blow your breath into the breathalyser; it checks the amount of alcohol in your system, but those guys at the Port Harcourt Airport, they took our blood sample and our urine on the 13th, and then they are coming back on the 23rd of July to give the results.

“How long does it take for a result to be out? A blood test doesn’t even make any sense. We are in 2025, and we paid a lot of money for this flying school type rating. You can’t just jeopardise somebody’s image and then tell me I take alcohol.”

Countering their arguments, Badeh said, “I sympathise with them. This is not the first preliminary report we have published. It is a little surprising that they are saying there is a smear campaign by NSIB.NSIB does not conduct tests. This was done by the Rivers State Hospital Management Board, and it is an official test. The test was carried out on the 13th, and the result came out on the 14th. It was with us, but we had to investigate everything. We were not going to knee-jerk. This is not the first preliminary report we have released.

“NSIB, formerly Accident Investigations Bureau, AIB, has been in existence since 2006, investigating countless accidents and releasing countless reports, and then one time, this comes out that NSIB is trying to sabotage somebody. I think we need to start being fair and honest ourselves. If this had resulted in deaths, this would be another conversation. No one said they were guilty. It said the captain and the first officer tested positive for ETG and alkaloid. How it got there is not for us to start talking.”

On July 13, 2025, an Air Peace aircraft veered off the runway while landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

The NSIB, in its preliminary investigation, revealed that the aircraft touched down 2,264 metres from the runway threshold, well beyond the recommended touchdown zone, and eventually came to a stop 209 metres into the clearway.

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