‘How we saved 171 passengers’ — FAAN speaks on intrusion at Lagos airport

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has spoken on the arrest of a young man who attempted to access an Air Peace flight at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Friday.

The flight heading to Owerri, Imo state capital, was taxiing when a young man who was hiding inside the bush attempted to force his way in.

In a statement on Friday, FAAN said 171 passengers and six crew members were on board the aircraft.

“Security personnel of Aviation Security (AVSEC) manning the holding area of the domestic terminal of the airport rushed to stop him and a struggle ensued. All efforts to stop the intruder by the unarmed AVSEC personnel failed as the intruder continued to resist arrest,” FAAN said in a statement.

“While the struggle was ongoing, the AVSEC personnel called for reinforcement and alerted the pilot of CS-TQU of the intrusion, and to delay the aircraft to allow for a successful apprehension of the intruder.

“The intruder was eventually apprehended by the AVSEC personnel with the support of the reinforcement and was taken into custody for investigations.

“The aircraft was also advised to return to base for necessary safety/security inspections in line with standard procedure. Subsequently, the aircraft departed Lagos at 10:16hrs with 171 passengers and 6 crew members.”

Commenting on the incident, Rabiu Hamisu, managing director of FAAN, said disaster was averted through the arrest.

He commended the action of the aviation security team.

Speaking on the incident, Air Peace spokesman, Stanley Olisa, said while the man was attempting to access the aircraft, there was another private jet behind.

“It was the pilot-in-command of the private jet that informed the Air Peace’s pilot-in-command that a young man was trying to force his way into the aircraft,” he said.

Editor’s note: This picture was used for illustrative purposes