FAAN debunks claim of £400 theft at Lagos Airport

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said the allegation of £400 (N223,000) theft leveled against aviation security officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, is false.

A passenger identified as Mr. Olakunle Tayo Fapohunda, had claimed that two officials of Aviation Security connived, and pilfered £400 from his wallet while going through the scanning machine on Wednesday, en route a Virgin Atlantic London Heathrow flight.

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However, in a statement on Friday, General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, said a review of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage revealed that nothing of such happened.

“The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will like to inform you that we have thoroughly investigated the allegation but found it to be untrue, as none of the two officers touched the tray as clearly shown by our CCTV footage,” FAAN explained.

She said the only person who touched the tray was a NAHCO official, who was behind Fapohunda, and that the official only pushed the tray forward to create space for her bag to come out of the X Ray machine.

The statement added, “We were able to clearly establish that throughout Mr. Olakunle’s movement within the screening point, nobody removed anything from his tray.

“While we appreciate this feedback and will like to express our appreciation to him for same, we will like to state that the Aviation Security Corp is a disciplined Corp, that has consistently recovered and returned many items forgotten or lost by passengers over the years.

“Although, we are mindful of the fact that it is not impossible to have a few bad eggs within the Corp, we will like to assure you that the Authority does not condone such acts of indiscipline, and we have conducted this investigation with utmost care and due diligence.”

FAAN also expressed readiness to make the footage of the CCTV available for the passenger.

“Finally, while advising that we all should be careful with making public unsubstantiated allegations because such acts are capable of ruining the lives and careers of those involved, we will like to reassure our esteemed passengers that our airports are safe and secure, and our officers will continue to discharge their duties efficiently and professionally,” the statement added.