Experts
in the Nigerian aviation industry have warned that security must be improved at
the country’s airports to forestall terrorist attacks and security breaches.
One of the
experts, a former Assistant Secretary General of the Airline Operators of
Nigeria, Alhaji Muhammed Tukur, said there are obvious vulnerabilities in the
nation’s aviation industry.
Tukur, who
noted that the United Nation had described Boko Haram as one of the deadliest
terror groups in the world, said the lapses in the aviation security system
must be fixed immediately.
He said, “We
have requirements by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the United
Nations agency that regulates the global aviation industry, which Nigeria must
meet.
The current
state of the nation’s airport calls for concern. It is beyond what most people
are thinking; Nigeria is a major country in the world and it is time for us to
take our airport security very serious. We have seen what happened to AirFrance
crew and the Russian plane in Egypt.”
An aviation
security expert and Chief Executive Officer, Selective Security Limited, Mr.
Ayo Obilana, agreed that there were security lapses at the airports.
He said the
Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria lacked critical airport security
equipment including 3D body scanners, adequate CCTV cameras, explosive
detectors and modern X-Ray machines, among others.
“FAAN needs
Federal Government’s help to buy these equipment; the agency does not have the
money to do so,” he said.
- Punch
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