A yet-to-be identified man suspected to be a cable vandal has died inside the powerhouse of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos
The suspected vandal, it was gathered, attempted to steal electrical cables and other equipment inside the FAAN powerhouse before he was electrocuted by the cables.
The middle-aged man found his way into the power generating building and had begun disconnecting the installations that supply power to the Lagos Airport before he met his Waterloo.
Confirming the incident, the managing director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, said the agency was leaving no stone unturned towards ensuring that all loopholes that will allow unauthorised persons into the airports were blocked.
Kuku, who spoke at the commissioning of 30 Special Forces that will man the Lagos Airport, affirmed that vandals have crossed the perimeter fences of airports and stole airfield lighting equipment, or potentially harm some workers on site.
She said, “I would say that there are two sides to this, that our environment is quite unique in the sense that we do have some security issues nationwide, we’ve been quite lucky within the airport environments that we haven’t had any of those major incidents. We do have, you know, individual issues.
“So across the airside you’ve seen where we have people who are either crossing our fence, or of course, either trying to steal our airfield lighting equipment, or potentially even harm some of the individuals that we have on site. We had an incident, where an individual actually went into our power house and he got electrocuted.”
She said FAAN has looked forward to the unveiling of the security apparatus in the last six months, adding that there’s been conversation about funding, and the aviation security staff being armed.
According to her, there’s a lot of investment that has gone into this, from the armoury to the training of the personnel to getting the arms as well as the ammunition.
Addressing the newly commissioned security personnel, the FAAN MD said “what I want to say is that you have been specially selected to be part of this unit. This is a special unit. Hopefully, there won’t be any need to use your arms, but rather to leverage this as a deterrent.
“But what is critical is that we want you to work very closely with the other security agencies at the airport. This is an environment that we want to keep safe and secure. You’ve probably seen a lot of the news around some of the illicit behaviours that are happening at the airports. There have also been all sorts of activities that we also need to put some pressure on.
“But what I would say is, I’m happy to have you on board. I’m happy that within FAAN, we now have this select unit. And we can’t wait to see how you perform on your duties and your tasks.
“As you know, the Honourable Minister, as well as the National Security Adviser, and of course, Mr. President sent their very warm regards. They’re extremely excited and delighted that you’re joining an elite squad today. I just want to let you know that we are fully behind you. All of the security agencies are working very closely together.
“You are also aware that we’ve launched a major war against corruption, against touting, against illicit activities at all of our terminals nationwide. Today, we’re collaborating with all the security agencies, especially with the Air Force as the intelligence unit of the Air Force, as well as the police and the civil defense.”
The FAAN MD further said: “Today marks a remarkable day in our journey and we expect you to make us proud. We’re counting on you and be rest assured that you also have our support.”
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