20th July, 2019
The man who created a stir at the Murtala Muhammed Airport on Friday by leaping on the wing of an Azman Air aircraft has been identified. He is Usman Adamu, said to be a Nigerien.
He is now chatting with the airport police, as four security heads of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria have also earned suspension for dereliction of duty.
FAAN’s Managing Director, Capt. Hamisu Yadudu made this known in a statement by the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, in Lagos on Saturday.
Yadudu spoke at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, in Kano.
He said FAAN took full responsibility for the breach.
Yadudu noted that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Transport, had already assisted in the award of contracts for perimeter fences at the airports, including detection devices and CCTV cameras with infrared capacity for night operations.
He stated that plans were also underway to erect observation towers this year to enable proper monitoring and coverage of the airport.
“FAAN has a security patrol/escort team in place for arriving and departing aircraft and another joint patrol team involving FAAN, AVSEC and the Police,” he said.
He said the Military has also been constituted to assist in protecting the sanctity of the airside and ensuring the security of operations and travellers using its facilities.
Yadudu admitted that as a dynamic industry, globally, new threats were springing up daily and the criminal elements were fashioning out ways to circumvent security architectures.
The managing director, however, said that it was up to FAAN to continuously improve on security and put adequate measures in place to mitigate the threats.
Yadudu noted that FAAN would continue to work with relevant stakeholders and regulatory agencies toward ensuring safe operations at its airports.
He reiterated that FAAN was committed to its core values of safety, security and comfort of passengers and airport users.
In a dramatic footage that went viral globally, the Nigerien was seen hauling himself up from the rim of the jet engine onto the wing of the Boeing 737 plane and then walking towards the cabin.
The aircraft was on the queue waiting for clearance to take-off when the man was seen climbing onto the wing by passengers, causing panic.
The flight was aborted.