A former Abia State governor and lawmaker, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has raised an alarm over alleged drug use among some Nigerian pilots, claiming that some of them smoke Indian hemp before flying passengers.
Kalu made the allegation during Wednesday’s plenary session of the Senate, where he called on aviation regulators to take immediate action to ensure safety in the sector.
“The authorities that are guiding these pilots, some of them are very lousy. On many occasions, I have stopped to fly because of inadequacy of pilot’s preparation. Some of the pilots are not prepared, some of them use Indian Hemp. Yes, it’s true, some of them smoke Indian Hemp,” Kalu said.
He further accused aviation agencies of negligence in monitoring pilots’ health and drug use, insisting that there was little to no oversight in place.
“Some of them are not properly audited by the authorities. I am telling you what I know because NCAA, NEMA, and other authorities are not looking after these pilots and checking them on drugs on-the-spot assessment. They are not doing it because it is dangerous, they are not doing it,” he said.
The senator expressed concern that pilots were allowed to fly without undergoing basic health checks.
“And you see them walking into the airplane, nobody checks their blood pressure, nobody checks anything, nothing-nothing, their drug level,” he added.
Highlighting the dangers of impaired pilots handling flights, Kalu explained that modern aircraft were designed with automated systems that could aid safe operations if properly utilized.
“The 737 flight system has an automatic flight landing system, it does not need the pilot to land the plane. What it needs to land the plane is the computer, autopilot, but because some of them are high, they are not going to do this thing,” he said.
“Any aircraft that is of new generation do not need a pilot to fly. Landing and take-off is purely automatic, so most of these pilots are so careless,” Kalu added.
Sharing a personal experience, the lawmaker claimed he had once stopped a flight due to doubts about the state of a pilot.
“I have witnessed, I come to fly and I tell my pilot, I say, no no, I do not think you are normal today, you have to go back home,” he said.
Kalu called on aviation agencies to “come back home to look after these pilots, and the cabin staff,” alleging that “some of them take this Indian Hemp like cigarettes.”
“They would not tell you; if you go close to them, you will smell it, so NCAA must come back to their duty, because again, the Minister of Aviation must be forced to do quarterly maintenance on the runway because some of the runways are not in good shape,” he concluded.
In September, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) confirmed that two Air Peace pilots tested positive for alcohol and cannabis following a runway excursion at Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025.
A preliminary accident report, signed by the NSIB’s Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs. Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, revealed that the Boeing 737 aircraft, operating a scheduled domestic flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt with 103 people on board, veered off Runway 21 after landing from an unstabilised approach.
But the airline denied that any of its crew members tested positive for alcohol or drugs.
“We are yet to receive any official communications from the NSIB on such findings over a month after the incident and after the testing of the crew for alcohol which took place in less than an hour of the incident!” it said.
“Air Peace conducts frequent alcohol and drug tests on our crew. We have a very strict alcohol use policy that is stricter than the 8 hours before the flight as provided in the regulations. Drug use is a NO-NO!” it added.
It stressed that the crew members tested negative for alcohol and drugs during the breathalyser screening.
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