Air Peace Crew Foils Attempt to Traffic Three-day-old Baby
Nigerian major airline, Air Peace, has said its crew frustrated the plan to traffic a three-day old baby boy from Port Harcourt to Lagos last Sunday.
The crew, the airline explained, suspected that the female passenger who was carrying the baby was not his biological mother, and further enquiries confirmed their suspicion, and she was barred from boarding the flight.
“Eagle-eyed Air Peace allfemale crew comprising Captain Sinmisola Ajibola; Senior First Officer, Onohi Agboighale; Mojoko Ewane, Taiye Abbey, Victoria Ukpiaifo and Ngozi Ezeamaka last Sunday frustrated an attempt by a middle-aged woman and her collaborators to traffic a three-day-old baby boy through the Port Harcourt Airport to Lagos.
“The suspect had booked Air Peace Port Harcourt-Lagos Flight P4 7393. During boarding, the Lead Crew of the flight, Mojoko Ewane, observed that the suspect was handling the baby in an awkward manner and decided to question her,” Air Peace explained in a statement signed by its Head of Communications, Chris Iwarah.
Iwarah said when the suspect was questioned at the boarding door of the aircraft, she said the baby was three days old. She, however, later told her interrogators that the baby was born on January 5, a day before her aborted trip. The suspect said she gave birth to the baby shortly after travelling from Lagos to Port Harcourt on an Air Peace flight on January 5.
“A call was later placed to the contact numbers the suspect said belonged to her husband and the doctor who handled the birth of the child. While the alleged husband claimed that his wife was actually pregnant, the alleged doctor’s number rang unanswered.
“When the suspect was asked to breastfeed the baby, she could not as there was no breast milk,” the airline said.
The statement said the suspect tried to create a scene, rallying other passengers on the flight to prevail on Air Peace crew to allow her fly, but the crew stood its ground.
“When the crew informed the suspect that the carrier’s standard operating procedure barred them from allowing passengers fly with a week-old baby on grounds of health, she claimed to be a nurse and insisted that the baby’s health would not be jeopardised,” the statement also said.
The airline, it was gathered, later invited personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Port Harcourt airport to take over the case for further investigation. regrettable that President Buhari, despite being in Abuja, chose not to attend the funeral of the five Air Force officers who died in a helicopter crash while prosecuting the war on terror.”
Atiku said sadly, due to reasons best known to him, Buhari chose not to attend their funeral, neither was he represented by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo nor any federal delegation.
“This was despite the fact that the President had time to host Nollywood actors and actresses the previous day. Imagine celebrating just before such a solemn event,” he stressed. The former vice president urged Buhari to learn from even younger leaders, like French President Emmanuel Macron, who on March 28, 2018, attended the funeral of a single French policeman, Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, killed by terrorists in Southern France.
He said that single event boosted the morale of the French security forces, because it showed a commitment to their wellbeing and honour for their memory by the head of state.
Atiku stated, “Last month, I had cause to advise the President to find time to attend the funerals of the hero soldiers of the 157 Taskforce Battalion in Metele, Borno State, who paid the supreme price for Nigeria in large numbers. “The most recent funeral held in Abuja, the President was in Abuja on the day of the funeral. The previous day, he had inaugurated his re-election campaign council.
“Very sadly, President Buhari missed another opportunity to demonstrate such commitment to our armed forces.
“My question for Mr. President is this: is securing your second term, more important to you than securing Nigeria?
“Let me end this by commending our military for their sacrificial efforts to secure all of us. You have my full support and solidarity. When we make the solemn vow that the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain, we mean your colleagues, who paid the ultimate price to secure Nigeria.”