STAKEHOLDERS in the aviation sector have called for the beefing up of security at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, following recent allegations of poaching of aircraft and stealing of baggage.

They canvassed for improved security at the airport in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

According to the stakeholders, security is the crux of aviation, hence the need to urgently address the issue.

Mr Olayinka Abioye, General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) noted that such incidents were not good for the image of the country.

“This is not a good story for the country.

“We know that no outsider can come into the airport except maybe people that have been disengaged, or maybe workers who are presently working at the airport but are being owed salaries and benefits.

“Imagine a worker in a security company with a monthly salary of N40, 000 being approached by a passenger with one thousand naira to smuggle an illegal substance into an aircraft.

“Some of them will do the dirty job willingly, but when such workers are given ‘correct’ remuneration and benefits, they will not be easily enticed,” he said.

Abioye urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to immediately invite all the security service providers to a round table, where their operations could be properly reviewed.

Similarly, the President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), Mr Gbenga Olowo, said that there was need to centralise security at the airport and also deploy technology in strategic areas.

“Today, we have Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN AVSEC), Immigration, Air Force, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Directorate of State Security (DSS) and Police.

“We must centralise security at the airports. ART has been talking about this for sometime because we must take the best model of aviation security, by removing it from many hands.

“We should stop these various agencies from setting up their individual desks, as we had back then. So, we should centralise security and deploy technology.

“When you deploy technology, you don’t need a separate counter for narcotics or DSS because once you get to immigration, all your details will be there,” he said.

– Jan. 15, 2018 @ 14:00 GMT |