Kaduna airport won’t be shut over abduction of staff, says FAAN MD

Hamisu Yadudu, managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), says the Kaduna International Airport will not be shut over an attack on its staff quarters. 

Gunmen, suspected to be bandits, had attacked two houses in the staff quarters and abducted 11 persons on Saturday.

While receiving the senate committee on aviation in Lagos over the weekend, Yadudu said only a few staff members of FAAN reside in the quarters, adding that the current attack will not discourage the agency from clamping down on criminals.

“This incident is entirely different from closing down the airport. It is a security concern that we have at our staff quarters,” he said. 

“A lot of our staff do not even live in these quarters. If there is a need for us to close it, we will close it, but this is even far away from it.

“There is no need for that drastic action. Just a small percentage of our members of staff stay in the staff quarters; the rest are all living in the town.

“You can see that the staff quarters are fenced. We are taking appropriate measures, but like I said, we just have to improve to counter these challenges.

“Though the fence was broken, somehow, somewhere, things happened, and now it is time for us to counter as we have been doing always.”

He said FAAN had, since 2020, beefed up security at the various airports across the country.

On his part, Smart Adeyemi, chairman of the senate committee, called for the restructuring of the entire country in a bid to address the various security challenges. 

He said the agitation for restructuring would not lead to secession of the country, as being claimed in some quarters.