A cynical “upgrade”

Editorial

As is commonly said in security circles, the criminal only needs to be right once. In spite of watertight vigilance, the nation’s security forces must always be on tenterhooks to stay out of the hooks of the terrorist.

That is the level of integrity we expect from our secret services and police in the light of the latest warning from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), to the effect that some unidentified criminals were plotting to launch attacks on major airports in Nigeria.

The airports include Kaduna, Maiduguri, Sokoto, Kano, Abuja and Lagos. That is as much as we know of their intent.  We do not know from the news report whether the hoodlums are  related to Boko Haram, or any other militant group, or whether this is associated with the tribes of bandits looming in Nigerian forests.

Here is the germane part of the internal memo that announces the threat. “I am directed to convey an alert from the Ministry of Aviation regarding security threats by criminal elements against airports in Nigeria and to also request for the immediate enumeration of necessary countermeasures for the protection of all airports/facilities under your review.”

The memo was sent to all the airports and the alert is to all Nigerians who travel through the identified airports, work there, or engage in activities in the vicinities. The memo specifically mentions passengers, drivers and other airport users, particularly those at the General Aviation Terminal, Lagos.

This means travelling through the airports will not be business as usual. It means comings and goings of persons will now attract special attention and undergo thorough checks. The memo also says that all drivers will henceforth park and wait outside. Arriving passengers will not walk to drive-by vehicles. For departing passengers, drivers are only allowed to drop off passengers in front of the terminals.

The memo noted that the security of the airports should not be left in the hands of the security services alone. It is a joint civic responsibility for which the public will be invaluable.

This threat is happening in the context of a country in the peril of random violence. Road travellers have come to see expressways as corridors of fear and trembling. The bush bandit has become part of the travel lore in the country. Everyone has to take into account where is safe, how to navigate what roads, what time of day is better and what vehicle. Kidnappers snatch “prized” travellers while, in too many cases, the encounters have been fatal.

A governor confessed to running for his dear life, while another governor had to open fire to cut through their barricade. An air force jet crashed recently but no one is sure if it was a technical or human error, or even the result of feisty weather or the cynical jest of the Boko Haram terrorist.

In Imo State, mayhem overtook whole communities as citizens could not ascertain if they were in a state of anarchy or whether their governments had given up.

The airport threat is, in a sense, an “upgrade,” for the terrorist. If the dignitaries and government officials now avoid the traps of highways, they will have no other way to travel if the air arteries are in danger. What this means is that terror stalks earth and sky in Nigeria.

It will be naïve for our security forces to limit their purview to the designated airports. Terror thrives on surprises. All the other airports, big and small, should enjoy a high level of alert.