The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed that three buses belonging to Air Peace are in its custody following allegations that the vehicles blocked the runway at the Lagos airport during the industrial action staged on Tuesday by aviation unions.
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Speaking with our correspondent, the spokesperson for the Police Airport Command, ASP Muhammed Adeola, confirmed that the three buses were in police custody, while investigations had commenced to identify the drivers who allegedly took the vehicles onto the runway and obstructed aircraft movement.
The police spokesman said the investigation would get to the root of the incident, adding that although no arrest had been made, the buses would help investigators establish who was responsible for driving them to the area.
He said, “I just spoke with the international division now, and they confirmed that the buses are in our custody because they blocked the runway and that caused disruptions, and the vehicles were towed and brought to our office.
“We have commenced investigations, and that is currently ongoing, and as we speak, no arrest has been made. We’re on it. As I mentioned, investigations are ongoing to identify who took those buses to obstruct the airside.
“You know the airline might not just want to give the names of the persons who drove the buses, but now that the buses are with us, through that we will get to the root of the matter, and those who drove the buses will be unravelled.”
The industrial action, which grounded Air Peace’s operations at the Lagos and Abuja airports, disrupted travel plans and left passengers scrambling for alternative means of transportation.
The action was targeted principally at Air Peace over claims by the unions that the airline was the largest debtor to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority in respect of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
The unions had earlier issued three stages of warnings, threatening to picket airlines that had allegedly refused to remit the five per cent TSC to the NCAA.
The unions also alleged that some domestic airlines had made it difficult for employees to freely join trade unions, claiming that workers were afraid to express interest in union membership for fear of discrimination or victimisation.
They, however, described the industrial action as a measure of restraint, saying they had given the affected airlines several weeks to resolve their grievances.
The PUNCH had, however, reported how large buses belonging to Air Peace were driven to the airside, parked there and obstructed the movement of other airlines operating from the airside.
Meanwhile, aviation security expert, Group Capt John Ojikutu (retd), said the incident had exposed serious gaps in airport security.
Ojikutu, who was previously in charge of security at the airport, blamed both the NCAA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria for allowing the buses to gain access to the airside and reach a point where they could disrupt aircraft movement.
He said blocking any part of the airside by an unauthorised person could be characterised as an act of terrorism, stressing that access to the airside was subject to strict security procedures.
The aviation expert further explained that any vehicle authorised to access the airside should be equipped with a radio and obtain clearance from the control tower before entering or moving around the area.
He said, “For this to have happened, NCAA should have queried FAAN, and even before that, since NCAA knew that the disruption may have occurred after they discovered a stalemate meeting, they ought to have written an advisory note to FAAN to adequately secure the airport space against such actions or intrusions. At the end of the day, the development affected almost all the airlines.
“How did those buses get there? What is the procedure to get there even when it is a FAAN vehicle? To get to the security identification area of the airport, you must get clearance from the control tower, and you must have a radio in that vehicle; does that vehicle have it? So many things were happening in that airport, but they kept looking the other way. What happened at that airport is a security risk and should be taken seriously.
“If it is not in the security programme of FAAN, the NCAA must ensure that they immediately put it there! Any vehicle that must enter that place must get clearance and have a radio. They must know that the airport and even airlines are national assets.”
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