The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has denied an allegation that its aviation security officers stole £400 belonging to a passenger, Mr. Olakunle Tayo Fapohunde at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The agency was reacting Fapohunda’s allegation that two AVSEC staff connived and pilfered the stated sum from his wallet while going through the scanning machine on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, en route London Heathrow on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
Spokesperson for FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu said in a statement that the agency had “thoroughly investigated the allegation but found it to be untrue, as none of the two officers touched the tray as clearly shown by our CCTV footage.”
The statement reads: “With respect to the allegation by Mr. Olakunle Tayo Fapohunda that two officials of aviation security connived and pilfered the sum of £400 from his wallet while going through the scanning machine on Wednesday, December 22, 2021,enroute London Heathrow on a Virgin Atlantic flight, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will like to inform you that we have thoroughly investigated the allegation but found it to be untrue, as none of the two officers touched the tray as clearly shown by our Cctv footage.
“The only person who touched the tray was a NAHCO staff, who was immediately behind him, and only pushed the tray forward to create space for her bag to come out of the X-Ray machine. We were able to clearly establish that throughout Mr. Olakunle’s movement within the screening point nobody removed anything from his tray.
“While we appreciate this feedback and will like to express our appreciation to him for same, we will like to state that the aviation security corps is a disciplined corps that has consistently recovered and returned many items forgotten or lost by passengers over the years.
“Although, we are mindful of the fact that it is not impossible to have a few bad eggs within the Corp, we will like to assure you that the Authority does not condone such acts of indiscipline, and we have conducted this investigation with utmost care and due diligence.
“We are open to making the contents of the CCTV footage available to Mr. Olakunle in case he wants to see it.
“Finally, while advising that we all should be careful with making public unsubstantiated allegations because such acts are capable of ruining the lives and careers of those involved, we will like to reassure our esteemed passengers that our airports are safe and secure, and our officers will continue to discharge their duties efficiently and professionally.”
