The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has condemned the invasion of runway of Sultan Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto by political loyalists.
The invasion it was learnt happened on Friday when loyalists of some politicians stormed the airport to receive their leaders who arrived at the airport.
Following the defection of Governor Aminu Tambuwal from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Aliyu Wammako representing Sokoto North and the immediate past Governor arrived the state with other APC leaders on Friday.
It was gathered that Wammako supporters in the process of receiving him allegedly invaded the runway which was considered a security breach.
Though FAAN did not name the politicians involved, it said the loyalists of “some politicians" broke through the airport fence and invaded the airport in a bid to receive their political masters.
General Manager, Public Affairs of FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu in a statement on Sunday said the incident which where described as unfortunate was "a gross violation of the security and safety arrangements at the airport, as thousands of political loyalists violently accessed restricted areas at the airport, breaking down the airport fence in the process and resisting all security machineries in place."
She said the team of aviation security officers were able to curtail the situation and normalcy was restored at the airport.
FAAN warned that the airport environment is a highly regulated environment and should be seen as such.
"As the 2019 general elections is drawing closer, the Authority will like to advise the general public, especially politicians and their supporters to ensure compliance with all rules and regulations at the airports, as we will not compromise security and safety at our airports for any reason", the statement added.
