Meet Mohammed Madugu, Kano pilot who flew first Emirates flight into Nigeria after 2 years suspension

Tuesday was another historic day in Nigeria’s aviation sector as Emirates Airlines did not only touch down Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Lagos for the first time after two years, but the aircraft was flown by Mohammed Madugu, a Nigerian Born Pilot.

Madugu gleefully posted a video of his landing at the MMIA on Tuesday with the caption on his X page: “A great plane spotter got my landing into lagos today. Landed off an RNAV approach today as the ILS was on test. Watching this video you’ll realize the amount of work the Emirates training department does on their pilots. Alhamdulillah.”

He added that it was an honour for him to operate the inaugural return flight to Lagos

“A very special day for me today, I have the honor of operating our inaugural return flight to Lagos, Nigeria 🇳🇬 @LOSairport . Today I’ll be flying both the Emirates and Nigerian flag very high 🇦🇪 🇳🇬 ! Thank you, Emirates A flight time of slightly over 8hours today. #EkoOniBaje,” he wrote.

Madugu in 2016 worked with Azman Airline then as the youngest Captain in the Nigerian airline industry.

Related News

Born on September 21, 1996, Madugu is an indigene of Kano and son of Alhaji Sani Madugu.

During a chat with Daily Trust in 2016, he had said his passion for flying started at six or seven when he had the opportunity of looking at an aircraft cockpit.

“It all started a very long time ago. When I was between six and seven years, we were flying to Kano for Sallah, as we usually do every Sallah. We got to Kano and my father took me to the cockpit of the aircraft. I think he knew the pilot or something and I was amazed seeing the cockpit, that is all I can remember. But that day, going into the cockpit really blew my mind.

Emirates used to operate to Lagos and Abuja until September 30, 2022 when it suspended operations citing inability to repatriate trapped funds amounting to over $80m at the time.

And what appeared to be a symbolic gesture, a Nigerian in person of Capt. Mohammed Madugu was in the cockpit alongside other crew members.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.