Flights on hold as bandits exchange gunfire with soldiers around Kaduna airport

There was pandemonium a‎t Kaduna International Airport as bandits and soldiers exchanged gunfire around the airport on Saturday afternoon.

The incident, which happened around 12:30 pm, according to sources, led to the temporary shutdown of the Airport.

Daily Trust gathered that an AZMAN aircraft scheduled for Lagos was about to take off when the incident happened.

‎There are reports that a staff member of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) was killed, but some sources described this as untrue.

Details of the incident were sketchy at the time of this report.

A source, who works at the airport, said no aircraft was attacked. According to him, the aircraft which was about to leave could not do so due to the presence of the bandits close to the airport.

Soldiers were reportedly deployed in the airport to ensure full security.

Calls made to the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Jalige Mohammed, were unanswered as at the time of filling the report.