Air Peace crew member rejects alleged drug test result, threatens legal action against NSIB

Victory Maduneme, a member of Air Peace’s cabin crew, has rejected what she described as a false and damaging drug test result allegedly released by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), vowing to seek legal redress if her name is not cleared within 72 hours.

Maduneme linked the test to the July 13 runway excursion incident involving Air Peace at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

Speaking in an interview with Arise Television, she recounted how NSIB investigators obtained blood and urine samples from crew members hours after the incident.

“Normally, when such drug and alcohol tests are conducted, results are released within hours. But in our case, nothing was given to us that day. Then, about 10 days later, I was invited by the NCAA to collect a letter, and to my shock, the result claimed I tested positive,” she said.

The crew member insisted the finding was false, explaining that she immediately sought medical advice and underwent a reconfirmatory test at a licensed clinic, which came back negative.

She also questioned why NSIB allegedly failed to notify her airline promptly if the initial test indeed showed drug use. “If marijuana was found in my system, they should have told my airline immediately and grounded me, because I would have posed a risk to passengers. But nothing was said until two months later,” she argued.

Maduneme accused the bureau of attempting to tarnish both her reputation and that of Air Peace. “If NSIB have a smear campaign against the airline, they should not drag innocent people into it. If not for the kindness of my chairman, I would have been sacked and blacklisted, and no airline in the world would employ me again,” she lamented.

She warned that unless the bureau retracts the result, she will take legal action. “In the next 72 hours, if NSIB does not reiterate and clear my name, we will sue. This is pure defamation of character,” she declared.