The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lagos airport

  • Air Force carries out anti-terrorism operation at Lagos Airport

    Air Force carries out anti-terrorism operation at Lagos Airport

    There was panic among passengers and workers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, following “invasion” of the departure terminal by gunmen in military camouflage.

    The “invasion” was carried out by Special Ffrom the Air Force , who performed a simulation to ascertain Nigeria’s preparedness to foil terror attacks.

    There was a commotion for several minutes as passengers scampered to safety, until an announcement was made that the exercise was by the Air Force.

    The 45-minute simulation saw alleged “terrorists” take over the departure hall, shooting sporadically as they held passengers hostage.

    The terrorists were portrayed to have taken over the departure hall, before the Special Forces took over.

    An Alpha jet, C-130 and MI-35 aircraft, 50 AK47 rifles, 50 tavor guns, two rocket grenades and two assault rifles were used for the operation, which comprise three phases.

    Snipers were deployed in strategic areas to take out the terrorists, who ‘killed’ five persons and ‘injured’ several.

    The Special Forces entered the terminal building on an Air Force helicopter, registered as 565, dropping men from the roof of the terminal.

    The Special Forces overpowered the terrorists and arrested them after a gun duel lasting some minutes.

    The masked terrorists were  led into a waiting military van and taken to an undisclosed location.

    An old woman fell and was injured in the mouth, her male counterpart laid helpless on the floor. The woman’s daughter, who was wailing, threw her baby in the opposite direction to save her life.

    The simulation was witnessed by Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, Secretary to Lagos State Government, Tunji Bello, director of Air Force, Ministry of Defence (MOD) Mrs. Osai Osai, director of Air Traffic Services Air Vice Marshal Charles Otegbade, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Logistics Command Air Vice Marshal Sani Ahmed, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai, General Manager of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Adesina Tiamiyu, and Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Tajudeen Balogun, among others.

    Speaking after the exercise,  Air Marshal Abubakar said the the simulation was to evaluate the state of preparedness of the Special Forces.

    He said although he observed some gaps, the team would evaluate such gaps during debriefing.

    The Air chief said some of the men, who carried out the mock operation, were trained in Pakistan and others in Nigeria.

    He added that security agencies were cooperative during the exercise.

    Abubakar said: “The essence of this exercise is to evaluate the quick response force. The Mobile Air Defence Team (MADT) are currently at all airports across the country. They are highly trained and skilled personnel, whose duty is to protect our airports and make sure they are safe from terrorism and threats.

    “Since terrorists do not give notice when they strike, this exercise was for us to evaluate ourselves and the synergy with other agencies. We also checked the time of response and monitored our effectiveness.

    “What we want is to have a force that will be effective in the event of attack on our airport; you can have the training, you can have the skills, unless you are tested from time to time you won’t be able to know if there will be gaps.

    “There are few gaps which we are going to address. But from what we have seen I am happy with the cooperation among agencies; Army, police, NSCDC and FAAN… We are happy we were able to plan, conduct and simulate an exercise together. A similar exercise would be conducted on all airports in Nigeria.”

    However, despite the several announcements by airport authority and the banners placed at conspicuous locations, especially at entrances about the simulation, some passengers were still taken aback when the operation started.

     

  • Fire at Lagos Airport

    Fire at Lagos Airport

    AN electrical spark at the main distribution board at the E-Finger of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos caused a minor fire yesterday.

    The spark occasioned disruption in power supply to some sections of the terminal.

    Spokesperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN )  Mrs Henrietta Yakubu confirmed the incident .

    The acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, said in a statement :” The Management of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to inform the public that power has been restored shortly after the spark that happened at the Finger Main Distribution Board at the E-Finger of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    “A spark occurred at the E-Finger of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, at about 11.30am on October 27.

    “However, the engineers successfully corrected all defaults and normalcy was restored at affected areas.

    “While assuring airport users of safety and security at our airports, FAAN wishes to apologise to passengers, airlines and the general public for the inconvenience caused by this interruption.”

  • 350-bed Hilton Lagos Airport on the way

    350-bed Hilton Lagos Airport on the way

    Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Quality Inspection and Testing Services (QUITS) Limited to open a 350-room and suite hotel at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

    The hotel will open in 2023 to join Hilton’s growing African portfolio.

    Senior vice president, development, Hilton Worldwide, Patrick Fitzgibbon said: “Strong growth is forecasted in both domestic and international travellers using Murtala Muhammed International Airport, so this exemplary new hotel will be well placed to meet travellers’ needs, offering an unparalleled level of design, comfort and service.”

    QUITS’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr Sam Iwuajoku added: “The signing of the agreement to open Hilton Lagos Airport is a testament to a period of exciting growth and development for Lagos.

    “Our plans to build an exceptional hotel at the international airport will revolutionise the traveller experience and also offer a state-of-the-art choice for conferences, meetings and events.

    “We look forward to a very successful collaboration with Hilton Worldwide on this outstanding development.”

    The hotel will comprise 350 guest-rooms, of which 72 are suites, an Executive floor and multiple food and beverage outlets, including a restaurant serving international cuisine, a speciality restaurant, a fashionable rooftop cocktail bar, a hip night club, a spa and fitness centre.

    Its facilities include a 2,600sqm event space, a 1,350sqm ballroom and 500sqm junior ballroom.

    Hilton’s executive vice president, global brands, Jim Holthouser, said: “Hilton Lagos Airport will further solidify our presence in Nigeria and be a great asset to our Hilton Hotels and Resorts properties trading or under development in Africa.

    “We have great confidence in this growing market and are proud to be pioneering exemplary guest experiences across the continent with our range of Hilton brands.”

  • ‘N12b required to complete Lagos airport road project’

    Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Director-General Aminu Diko has said N12 billion will be required to complete the Lagos Airport road rehabilitation project.

    A statement in Abuja yesterday by ICRC’s Head of Communications Mrs. Deborah Okafor said Diko gave the figure when he led a management team on a visit to the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

    Diko said a private investor had shown interest in expanding the road into eight lanes with flyovers, and that the procurement process was on.

    He called on the ministry to speed up work on the concession of Nigeria’s four busiest airports – Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

    Diko advised on the setting up of a Project Delivery Team and a Steering Committee, to be chaired by the minister.

    “Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are complex and take time to consummate and so there is need to kick-start the process by establishing the project team to see to the engagement of a transaction adviser to manage the development and procurement stages.

    “This should go hand in hand with the convening of extensive stakeholders’ consultations to ensure the success of the project in view of resistance to the planned concessions by aviation unions.”

    Sirika said government did not have the required funds to revamp the country’s infrastructure, adding that the ministry will continue to encourage private sector intervention in service provision in the aviation industry.

    He added that with a population of over 170 million and a 38 per cent return on investment, Nigeria ranked among the best locations to do business.

    Sirika said the trend around the world was to use other people’s money for infrastructure growth.

    He said there were plans by the ministry to promote the development of cargo airports to be co-located with existing ones and which will be maintained by the private sector.

    Sirika added that talks were on with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd, the concessionaire of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2, with a view to resolving pending issues.

     

  • Customs shuts export unit at Lagos Airport

    Customs shuts export unit at Lagos Airport

    Exporters of perishable goods /vegetables have condemned  the shutting down of the Export Unit at the Lagos international airport by officials of the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service.

    They  said the shutting down has led to loss of revenue.

    The exporters alleged that Customs would have acted following a tip off about some unscrupulous Chinese who were exporting donkey skin through Emirates Airline.

    Confirming the incident, Captain John Okakpu Chief Executive Officer, ABX World, described the exporters frustrations as unquantifiable, saying they  have already lost millions of Naira following the Customs action.

    He said  Customs ought to have carried out a thorough investigation before shutting down all export businesses at the Lagos Airport.

    Capt. John said the action negates Federal Government’s agricultural road map which was launched by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo on Monday.

    He said, “We have even contacted the Nigrian Export Promotion Council and they are outraged. This is counter productive. You don’t shut down the whole export unit because some people are suspected to be engaged in illegal business.

    “What happens to the perishable items that ought to be exported since Monday? Who pays for the millions lost? Is this how to promote economic development in the country? We are telling the whole country to know that Customs has done something very anti-agric and economic growth,” he stated.

    In a swift reaction, an official of the Nigerian Customs Service, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command, said the closure was sequel to information, the service received concerning some prohibited items .

    The official who pleaded not be named, said Customs operatives have been stationed at the export unit to investigate the tip off it received on the status of the items.

    The official said it would amount to deriliction of duty if such information was treated with levity .

    The official said : “ I can confirm to you that our operatives have shut down the facility . This is to enable us carry out a thorogh investigations on the information we got. Our men are still stationed there to ensure that we get to the root of the matter.”

    Meanwhile, the ground handling companies, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company ( NAHCO ), Plc and Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited              (SAHCOL), have kicked against the closure of the export unit.

  • NLC protest disrupts aviation activities at Lagos Airport

    NLC protest disrupts aviation activities at Lagos Airport

    Unions in the aviation industry Wednesday joined factional wing of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), acting under the aegis of Joint Action Front to disrupt vehicular and passenger activities around the Lagos Airport as part of protest against the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

    The unions are the National Union of Airport Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Association of Senior Services Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN).

    This is just as they threatened to shut down the Lagos Airport on Thursday, should government fail to reverse the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.

    The factional wing of NLC, led other protesters to block major roads leading into the Lagos Airport occasioning traffic gridlock on the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja.

    They took possession of the road in the early hours thus depriving limousine cab operators from taking passengers and airport workers to the airport.

    Besides the protest, some domestic carriers including DANA Air, Arik, Aero, First Nation Airways, Med-View operated skeletal services.

    Most of them had to cancel or re-schedule flights because of limited passengers.

    Most of the aviation agencies including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), opened their offices for normal activities.

     

     

  • Customs official assaults FAAN employee at Lagos Airport 

    An official of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos Thursday assaulted a staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over right of way near the Monument Gate of the cargo terminal.

    The struggle over right of way which occasioned a gridlock around the cargo complex propelled the Customs official to assault the FAAN staff using a tear gas.

    From the injuries sustained during the attack, the FAAN personnel have been rushed to the Nigerian Air Force hospital where he is receiving treatment.

    According to sources trouble started when the Customs staff who was in mufti attempted to access the Monument Gate through the exit thereby leading to gridlock on the road.

    The battered FAAN staff, sources hinted was in the company of some of his colleagues on his way out of the Monument Gate at around 9:40am before he was attacked with teargas severally in the eyes by the Customs staff for daring to challenge his wrong driving.

    The Customs personnel it was learnt was arrested by the Police at the airport and has been released following intervention from his senior colleagues.

    The FAAN staff narrated his ordeal: “The Customs officer was in mufti when the incident happened Thursday. I was driving out of the Hajj and Cargo Terminal through the exit point when I saw a vehicle driving in through the exit point. I actually challenged him, but I was still inside the car and all of a sudden, the man I later gathered was a Customs officer came out and rained blows on me.

    “As I was making attempt to come out of the car, he held me by the neck and brought out a teargas and sprayed it directly into my eyes. It took the intervention of passers-by before I could be rescued from his grip. Later, he attempted to run away, but he was chased by some of my colleagues’ right into the Customs complex.”

    Also, the Chief Cargo Officer of FAAN, Mr. Benson Oweka confirmed the incident in an interview with our correspondent at the hospital.

    He said the department received a distress call that one of its staff was being beaten by Customs at the Monument Gate and before they could rush down to the place.

  • NDLEA discovers letter laden with heroin in Lagos

    NDLEA discovers letter laden with heroin in Lagos

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Monday said it had intercepted a letter laden with heroin in Lagos.

    This is contained in a statement signed in Lagos by the agency’s spokesman, Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju.
    According to the statement, the letter, which was sent from Bengalore, India, via Express Mail Service (EMS), was addressed to one Mr Yunusa Amusan, 33, in Mushin, Lagos.

    “Upon interception by the NDLEA, about 480 grammes of powdery substance that tested positive for heroin, was found inside the letter.

    “The thin parcels of heroin were carefully hidden in the letter in a manner that makes it difficult to detect.

    “This is the first case of heroin letter discovered by the anti-narcotic agency this year,’’ it said.
    The statement also quoted the Chairman of the agency, Mr Muhammad Abdallah, saying that the arrest was recorded following the diversification of the agency’s operations.

    “The operations of the agency have been diversified to cover mail services.

    “Drug control is an intelligence-led operation and the NDLEA, under my dispensation, will spread its tentacles to all possible areas of narcotic smuggling.

    “We will not relent in taking deliberate and sustained efforts towards preventing drug trafficking under any guise in the country, be it by air, land or water,’’ Abdallah stated.

    The NDLEA boss added that investigations revealed that the suspect, already in custody, allegedly connived with his uncle, who lives in India, to import heroin disguised as letters to Nigeria.

    “Their criminal plan did not materialise due to the superior intelligence gathering capacity of the agency.

    “I assure Nigerians that the agency will always work towards a drug-free society,’’ he said.
    The statement also quoted Mr Mabo Olugbenga, NDLEA Director of Operations and General Investigation, explaining that the suspect was apprehended following surveillance report on his illicit drug activities.

    “The illicit smuggling of narcotic drugs under the guise of letters was reported and closely monitored by the agency.

    “It was confirmed that Amusan was recruited by his uncle who lives in India, to take delivery of heroin concealed in letters, to avoid arrest by law enforcement agents.

    “The suspect was arrested after collecting the letter and further investigation is ongoing,’’ he added.

     

  • Customs intercepts arms, ammunition at Lagos port

    Customs intercepts arms, ammunition at Lagos port

    The Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), Tin-Can Island command, Tuesday intercepted arms and ammunitions concealed in a container and arrested a suspect.

    Speaking while handing over the contraband cargoes, NCS Area Comptroller, Mr. Yusuf Bashar said that the healthy collaboration amongst security agencies working in the command led to the interception.

    Bashar also said that the Customs will continue to synergise with all relevant government agencies to ensure the security and safety of the ports and border stations.

    The seized items included 980 rounds of live 9mm ammunitions, one Taurus pistol with number THX43606.

    Others included military ware, a pair of black boot, a military face cap, a pair of camouflage hand gloves and an army coloured plastic container.

    He added that the contents of the box were prohibited items not to be imported by any individual adding that these are material that can only be imported by the Army.

    “We believe that there must a sinister reason for the importation of the prohibited materials. There is a network of moving and distributing these arms and ammunition.”

    He said that the cargo was shipped from the United States were discovered in a one by forty foot container with number crhu452745/2.

    The suspect, the CAC said, was with the Directorate of the State Security Service ( DSSS) for further investigation.

    Meanwhile, the command generated a total of the N24.8billion last month of January, surpassing the figure of N20billion in January, 2015.

  • Lagos airport’s tools obsolete, says FAAN

    Lagos airport’s tools obsolete, says FAAN

    •Perm sec rules out privatisation of airports

    FEDERAL Airport Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) Managing Director Saleh Dunoma yesterday warned on the consequences of the dilapidated and obsolete equipment at airports.

    Dunoma, who spoke at a Senate hearing by the Ad Hoc Committee on Aviation, said the 30-year-old Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, was critically affected.

    He said when FAAN invited German engineers to repair the airport’s generators, inaugurated since inception, they were shocked that Nigeria still use such obsolete equipment discarded in other parts of the world.

    The engineers, he said, insisted that the generators at MMIA should have been replaced.

    He said no new equipment had been added at the airports while those in use were over-stretched.

    The committee was worried that air conditioners, elevators and conveyor belts were in bad shape.

    But the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Hajia Binta Bello, ruled out privatisation of the airports for now due to non-viability.

    Mrs. Bello said the ministry was awaiting President Muhammadu Buhari’s response on its position paper for a new national carrier.

    On privatisation of the airports, the permanent secretary said: “I cannot say yes or no.”

    She noted that the MMIA, for instance, had capacity for 11 million passengers yearly; Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja (nine million passengers) and Aminu Kano international Airport and Port Harcourt Airport (six million passengers).

    The permanent secretary insisted that the viability of any airport should be considered before talks of privatisation.

    On a new national carrier, Mrs. Bello said they were asked to present a model that would be good for the country, adding that a committee worked on this and had submitted its report.

    Mrs. Bello said the recommendations were submitted to the Presidency and his response was being awaited.

    On the remodelling of airports, she said money for the projects were sourced through intervention funds.

    She noted that since a former Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah, left, the intervention funds stopped.

    “We depend on budget. We have financial constraint. Budgetary provisions can never fund the over 100 projects we have. The problem of the aviation industry is funds,” the permanent secretary said.

    She agreed with the committee that the arrival hall of the Port Harcourt Airport was an deplorable.

    Committee Chairman Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso urged the management and workers of the airports to sit up.

    He noted that while it was true that there were certain aspects of the aviation industry requiring a lot of money to fix, some others did not need much to keep them running.

    Kwankawso listed conveyor belt, which, he said, might just require oiling to make it function well.

    He asked the managements of the airports to do something about the movement of Very Important Personalities (VIPs).

    A member of the committee, Senator Olaka Nwogu, who said he was speaking as “a dissatisfied Nigerian,” noted that the Port Harcourt Airport was recently rated as the worst airport in the world.

    Nwogu, who blamed the problem of the airports on leadership, said the committee was set up to find out ways and means of making the airports work.