FG Orders for New Equipment to Improve Airports’ Security

To eject illegal residents around Lagos airport

Chinedu Eze

As part of efforts to secure Nigeria’s airports, the federal government has ordered for new technology-based security facilities to be installed at major airports nationwide.

THISDAY also gathered that in order to curb incursions into the country’s busiest airport in Lagos from surrounding urban areas of Mafoloku, Beesam, Valley Estate at Dopemu, Akowonjo, Shasha, Ejigbo, Ajao Estate and others, the government is also set to eject illegal residents in these areas and also erect new perimeter fences.

The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Captain Hamisu Yadudu, who confirmed this development to THISDAY, said the order for the new facilities followed security breaches at the airports, including the recent incident where a Nigerien jumped on Azman Air flight at the runway of the Lagos airport.

Yadudu said apart from placing orders for some of these facilities, the federal government had also procured more sophisticated scanning security equipment with the latest technology capable of detecting all forms of explosives and narcotics.

According to him, the modern x-ray equipment also includes passenger cabin baggage scanners, hold baggage scanners, body scanners and walk-through metal detectors in addition to explosive trace detectors.

“This is to make sure that every incendiary device, no matter how small and all prohibited items are identified by the devices.

“As we speak, production of the equipment has commenced in earnest in the various factories and delivery date set and on schedule. The five major international airports as well as the major domestic airports and local airports are to be covered in these initiatives.

“The perimeter fences are also not being left out, construction of bi-metal security fence with anti-climb and intrusion detection system is also ongoing in airports like Benin, Ilorin, Owerri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna airports.

"The upgrade of the CCTV Surveillance Monitoring Systems is also at an advanced stage of completion; that of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and four other international airports is scheduled for hand over in the last quarter of this year; while efforts are on to provide the same level of coverage for the smaller airports,” Yadudu said.

THISDAY gathered that there are different angles of threats, especially at the country’s busiest airport, Lagos, including incursions from surrounding urban areas of Mafoloku, Beesam, Valley Estate at Dopemu, Akowonjo, Shasha, Ejigbo, Ajao Estate and others.

However, the FAAN boss told THISDAY that plans have been completed to eject the illegal residents at the aforementioned areas, adding that new perimeter fences would be erected soon at those areas.

He said the agency had been carrying out regular profiling of FAAN’s Aviation Security (AVSEC) regularly to forestall insider threat, which has led to tragic terror attacks in some airports like Sham el Sheik in Egypt a few years ago.

FAAN has also introduced expanded and improved close circuit television (CCTV), intelligence and patrol by security operatives at major airports, he said.

At MMIA it has deployed CCTV in every part of the airport terminal and it currently extending the facility to the runway, taxiway and all the surroundings of the airport.

"To forestall illicit movement at the restricted areas, security operatives escort arriving and departing aircraft from the terminal to the runway and in addition to that; security moles have been deployed at the airside of the airport to monitor illegal movements of people at the airport and to stem possible security breaches," he added.

Commenting on the measures being put in place to improve airport security, an aviation industry security consultant and CEO of Centurion Securities, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), said no provision was made for the minimum clearance of six meters from the perimeter fence.

He added that houses in these areas are using the airport perimeter fence as part of their properties while there have been cases of intrusion from some of these areas into the Lagos airport.

Ojikutu said another major potential security challenge was insider threat in which aviation security officials could be recruited to carry out maximum damage at airport facilities.