The disappearance of the approach lighting systems had
raised security concerns in Nigeria’s busiest airports.
According to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity,
those who carted away the lighting systems took advantage of the closure of the
runway for over three months.
The source alleged that some FAAN workers connived with
outsiders to steal the airport lighting equipment.
“The criminal took advantage of the closure to commit the
crime. I cannot give the actual worth of the theft, but almost all the lighting
was removed. The permanent secretary came around to see for himself the huge
damage done. A lot of FAAN officials have been suspended,” the source
confirmed.
We learnt that some heads of relevant departments at FAAN
have been suspended over the missing lighting equipment on the directives of
the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Dr Emmanuel Meribole.
The source also disclosed that investigations had since
commenced to unravel those responsible for the missing safety equipment.
According to the source, the regular incursion and stealing
of safety components at the airports are carried out by a syndicate, consisting
of some workers of the agencies, who have access to the restricted areas and accomplices
from outside.
A top official with FAAN, who did not want his name in
print, said the agency’s Managing Director, Mr Kabir Yusuf, was displeased with
the development.
He stated that FAAN MD had also ordered the suspension of
security personnel who were in charge of guarding critical airport facilities.
Reacting to the latest development, a former Military
Commandant at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Group Capt.
John Ojikutu (retd.), said, “This is not new at MMA. I wish the FAAN management
could go back to 1990 when similar things happened in the airport. I was
convinced that it was an ‘insiders threats’. What did I do? I positioned
soldiers on the runways and ensured that no FAAN maintenance staff went near
the runways for anything without my approval; otherwise, it was shoot at first
sight. It stopped completely. Runway lightings were being stolen and my
conclusion then was that runway lightings can only be useful for runways and
not roads or houses.
“Those stolen were being sold to FAAN by the same workers.
That is why I am not in support of the unions carrying the picketing of their
employers to the airport’s security controlled areas.”
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection,
FAAN, Mr Yakubu Funtua, told The PUNCH stated that investigations had been
launched and that the agency would do all within its powers to avoid a
reoccurrence.
He said, “FAAN is doing all it can to get to the bottom of
this. You are very aware that there are many agencies within the airport,
including the different ones that are supposed to be taking care of security
there. So, it would be unfair to put this (the theft) on our (members of) staff
and I don’t think there is any FAAN (member of) staff that wants the agency to
crash.
“Note that most of our revenue comes from Lagos. So, what
kind of staff will ‘kill the goose that lays the egg?’ However, we can’t say
exactly who did it, but we are doing all that we can to recover what is lost.
We are going to recover it because we are going to find out those people who
did it and then block all those loopholes.”
For 15 years, the Lagos Airport domestic runway 18L was shut
down to night operations due to the absence of airfield lighting.
Domestic airlines were forced to use runway 19 at the international
airport, which consumes more aviation fuel because of the longer distance.
The equipment, which aids aircraft to take off and land at
the domestic airport at night, was installed on the 2.7 kilometres long runway
last November.