The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has alleged
that the “customs area comptroller for Hajj and Cargo Terminal at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and an officer forcefully gained access
into the security restricted area (SRA) of the airport “.
Henrietta Yakubu, general manager, corporate communications,
FAAN, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Yakubu said the security breach occurred last Thursday at
about 5:45 pm.
The statement alleged that CSC Agunbiade, a customs officer
on the area comptroller’s entourage, shoved aside the aviation security (AVSEC)
officer at the gate, forcefully took over the gate, and opened the gate before
the convoy gained access into the SRA through the gate 3 of the area.
It added that the armed escorts of the comptroller
threatened to beat up the AVSEC officer ‘if they dare resist assault and breach
of security’.
“At about 1745hrs on Thursday, January 20, 2023, while the
AVSEC officer on day duty at Gate 3 were profiling a NAHCO vehicle that wanted
to access the Security Restricted Area (SRA) via gate 3, the Customs Area
Controller for Hajj and Cargo Terminal suddenly emerged and pulled off behind
the NAHCO vehicle that was being attended to und CSC Agunbiade, a customs
officer of the Area Comptroller’s entourage later shoved aside the AVSEC
Officer at the gate, forcefully took over the gate and opened the gate for the
Comptroller and his escorts to forcefully access the Security Restricted Area
via the gate,” the statement reads.
“While accessing the gate, the armed escorts to the
Comptroller threatened to beat up the AVSEC officer at the gate if they dare
resist their assault and breach of security.
“This blatant abuse of the privilege of bearing firearms by
the NCS has become a recurrent threat to the Safety and Security of our Staff
and our operations.
“While we keep on working to resolve all our challenges
decisively, we hereby urge all stakeholders to please respect our mandate by
being of disciplined and Professional conduct in the interest of national
security and operational safety.”
But reacting through its official Twitter handle, Nigeria
Customs said FAAN shows a lack of understanding of the customs role.
“Saying that a gate is restricted to Customs in an
international cargo airport shows lack of understanding of NCS roles. Could it
be that the gate is being made available for Smugglers?,” it tweeted.
A “The senior officials of both agencies should engage and
understand each other’s roles instead of this display of false sense of
superiority.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayThe senior officials of both agencies should engage and understand each other's roles instead of this display of false sense of superiority
— NIGERIA CUSTOMS (@CustomsNG) January 24, 2022
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