From Suleiman Amagbor, in Lagos
A man has met his waterloo while attempting to steal electrical equipment from the power generating house of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in Lagos, the agency has disclosed.
The man’s identity could not be ascertained but the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku confirmed the incident saying the suspected cable thief got electrocuted inside the powerhouse in Lagos.
Mrs. Kuku said on Monday that the agency is leaving no stone unturned towards ensuring that all loopholes that will allow unauthorized persons into the airports are blocked.
She made the statement at the commissioning of 30 Special Forces drawn from the Aviation Security (AVSEC) unit that will man the Lagos airport, affirming that hitherto, people had crossed the perimeter fences of the airports and stole airfield lighting equipment, or potentially even harm some of the workers on site.
She said “I would say that there are two sides to this, that our environment is quite unique in the sense that we do have some security issues nationwide, we’ve been quite lucky within the airport environments that we haven’t had any of those major incidents. We do have, you know, individual issues.
“So across the airside you’ve seen where we have people who are either crossing our fence, or of course, either trying to steal our airfield lighting equipment, or potentially even harm some of the individuals that we have on site. We had an incident, where an individual actually went into our power house and he got electrocuted.”
She said FAAN has looked forward to the unveiling of the security apparatus in the last six months adding that there’s been conversation about funding, and the aviation security staff being armed.
According to her, there’s a lot of investment that has gone into this, from the armoury to the training of the personnel to getting the arms as well as the ammunition.
Addressing the newly commissioned security personnel, the FAAN MD said “what I want to say is that you have been specially selected to be part of this unit. This is a special unit. Hopefully, there won’t be any need to use your arms, but rather to leverage this as a deterrent.
But what is critical is that we want you to work very closely with the other security agencies at the airport. This is an environment that we want to keep safe and secure. You’ve probably seen a lot of the news around some of the illicit behaviours that are happening at the airports. They’ve there’s also been all sorts of activities that we also need to put some pressure on.”
“But what I would say is, I’m happy to have you on board. I’m happy that within FAAN, we now have this select unit. And we can’t wait to see how you perform on your duties and your tasks.”
“As you know, the Honourable Minister, as well as the National Security Adviser, and of course, Mr. President sent their very warm regards. They’re extremely excited and delighted that you’re joining an elite squad today. I just want to let you know that we are fully behind you. All of the security agencies are working very closely together.
Mrs. Kuku added that “You are also aware that we’ve launched a major war against corruption, against touting against illicit activities at all of our terminals nationwide.
Today, we’re collaborating with all the security agencies, especially with the Air Force as the intelligence unit of the Air Force, as well as the police and the civil defense.”
The FAAN MD further said “Today marks a remarkable day in our journey and we expect you to make us proud. We’re counting on you and be rest assured that you also have our support.”
