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| Abuja UN HQs Bombing |
Over 25 foreign airlines operate flights into Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano international airports.
Already the foreign airlines have reviewed the security situation in the country and decided that it was becoming unsafe to maintain their normal schedule of flights to the Abuja airport.
“The decision to cancel flights going to Abuja till the situation improves was a tough one,” a top official of one of the foreign airlines told journalists in Lagos on Sunday.
Aviation sources said the foreign airlines became worried after the August 26 bombing of the United Nations’ building in the Federal Capital Territory. Correspondents learnt that European airlines were at the vanguard of the move to boycott Abuja. Some of the foreign airlines operating into Abuja airport are British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Airlines.
Meanwhile, the airline official who spoke to our correspondent said some of the airline operators would have made the move but for the reassurances given by President Goodluck Jonathan after the UN bombing and the security measures taken by the aviation authorities.
“The assurances from President Goodluck Jonathan and the Director- General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority made us to conclude that the situation won’t deteriorate,” he said.
Already, a foreign firm has commenced the installation of Closed-Circuit Television cameras at major airports as directed by the President.
In an exclusive story last Friday, a popular national daily had reported that over 50 CCTV cameras had so far been installed on tall poles along the major roads leading to the Murtala Muhammed Internationa Airport in Lagos.
Some expatriates, including Chinese nationals, were seen on Thursday erecting more poles a few metres away from the MMIA terminal building. Each of the poles carried at least three cameras which faced different directions.
The poles, painted white, were over 20 feet high. One of the men installing the CCTV cameras, who would not disclose his name, said, “This is a national project. It is from the Presidency. I cannot comment much on it. It has to do with national security. It is due to the prevailing security issues in the country.”
A security expert said the cameras were likely to be the type called “bullet cameras,” since some of the high poles on which they were fixed had antennas. The expert, who also did not want his name published, explained that they could be ‘Internet protocol outdoor surveillance cameras’.
“They are the modern type; they are called bullet cameras. They can pan, tilt and zoom objects. Each pole covers about 360 degrees space. Each of the three or four cameras on each pole sometimes covers about 89 degrees. They are more focused,” he said.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria had warned last Wednesday that all persons found around the nation’s 22 airports without genuine mission would henceforth be arrested and prosecuted.
A statement by the agency quoted the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. Richard Aisuebeogun, as saying that the latest security measures were aimed at checking the menace of touting and terrorist attacks.
He said the authority, in collaboration with some state governments, would address the menace of runway incursion, adding that his management would not hesitate to demolish all illegal structures, particularly in the Lagos area.
“All necessary gadgets have been put in place, and we are putting more to ensure safety of all airport users. All movements are being closely monitored and recorded,” he added.
Aisuebeogun said that FAAN was working with other security agencies to ensure maximum safety and security at the airports. He added that special security checks on individuals and vehicles accessing the airports would also be intensified by security personnel.
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