The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), as part of its efforts to rid the airports of corrupt practices, has said that 90 airport staff have been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The suspects were arrested for their alleged involvement in some nefarious activities which includes facilitating the issuance of fake Covid-19 test results, providing illegal yellow cards for travellers, short-changing travellers under the pretence of assisting them with their boarding process and acting as interface between passengers and airlines.
This was made known in a statement titled, ‘FAAN arrests over 90 touts, hands 89 over to police’, issued by FAAN General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Henrietta Yakubu, where she said that some of those arrested are staff of Patovilki Nigeria Limited, Lakewood Services, and the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc.
Yakubu said that the arrested staff were also involved in other illicit activities that include unauthorised entry, trespass, illegal facilitation, forgery, loitering, theft, public nuisance and crowding up the departure halls, among others.
What the FAAN Spokesperson is saying in the statement
The statement from Yakubu partly reads, “Of the total arrested, 59 were handed over to the airport police command in Abuja for prosecution, while 30 were handed over to the police force in Lagos for same.
“FAAN will like to use this opportunity to warn those that do not have any legitimate business at the airports, as well as airport staff carrying out illegal duties to desist from such acts, as the authority will not hesitate to arrest and hand over such individuals for prosecution.’’
In case you missed it
Recall that last November, FAAN had announced the suspension and arrest of some airport officials for allegedly extorting from a passenger at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
This is coming barely a few weeks after the Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu warned that the authority will apply stiffer sanctions against officials that engage in extortion at the country’s airports.
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FAAN’s insistence on applying sanctions on erring staff follows several accusations by stakeholders about extortion by some officials of some agencies in some of the airports.