Aircraft poaching: FG orders installation of CCTV cameras at airports

The ongoing poaching and robbery of aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed Airport may have caught the attention of the government as the Federal Government has ordered the installation of the security gadgets, the Close Circuit (CCV) Cameras across many of the international airports, with Lagos airport being on top of the affected airports.

According to information gathered yesterday evening, the CCTV cameras are to be installed at the airfield and holding areas near the threshold where aircraft take-off.

The development came just as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) may have concluded plans to overhaul the entire security architecture of virtually all the airports to guarantee security.

A source in FAAN confirmed this to our correspondent as government intensifies security at the airports.

The development may not be unconnected with the recent robbery of a private jet carrying two Nigerian celebrities, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun aka “Wizkid” and Tiwa Savage from Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State was while taxiing on Murtala Muhammed airport’s runway 18L.

Though FAAN has since debunked the allegations of the poaching of aircraft and stealing of baggage belonging to the entertainers, many Nigerians have descended heavily on security lapses at the Lagos airport.

Besides the poaching of Tiwa Savage and Wizkid on 26th December 2017, a Vistajet jet with registration number 9H-VFA operated by Evergreen Apple Nigeria (EAN) Ltd had earlier been robbed December 12, 2017, on the runway 18R of the airport by bandits when taxiing to the hangar of EAN. The jet was arriving from Istanbul between 2110-2130hrs when the robbery took place after landing in Lagos.

The pilot of the jet, Captain Emma Heering, was said to have discovered that the rear door of the aircraft was opened while taxiing to the hangar of EAN after which it was discovered that a big black bag belonging to the air hostess, Francesca Louis, was missing from the jet.