A young man, Alabibu Olushola, caused panic at Murital Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) this morning, as he was assumed to be a terrorist on a mission to blow up an airline.
Olushola, with a rock sack (a black bag) had approached a Medview plane that was taxiing, to the consternation of passengers, crew members and other eye witnesses.. However, the captain of the plane noticed him and used high engine thrust to blow him away.
This gave him burns and sores but he still quickly got up, limped from the tarmac and ran into a bush nearby. The airport security officials however ran after him and caught up with him after a hot chase. The airport was later shut down and vigorous search was conducted.
Naija.com quotes an eye witness as saying, “Some ground staff tried to catch him, but till we were picked up from the tarmac they hadn’t caught him. People started to speculate if he was a boko haram terrorist trying to plant something on an aircraft, or perhaps he had already planted something and was just trying to get away.”
while another corroborated, saying, “We were about to take off from Lagos to Abuja on Medview flight 2108 11.15 am flight this morning. The plane was already on the runway when the pilot suddenly slowed down. We saw a man beside the wing of the plane carrying a black bag. As the plane moved forward, he tried to jump as if trying to grab something.
At first we thought it was an engineer but what will an engineer be doing beside a moving plane?
He tried this several times. As he tried for the fourth time to jump or hold maybe “throw the bag into the engine, the pilot saw him and turned on the engine to the highest. The wind blew him away, causing him to rumble and roll on the floor. He was burnt and severely bruised .
He stood up and ran to the other side of the plane limping. Two airport authorities ran towards him and he apprehended by airport security. We panicked and the pilot announced that the plane has been compromised, so we disembarked and we are waiting for the three o clock flight.”
However, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has released a statement concerning the strange occurrence. FAAN said the man wasn’t a suspected terrorist but someone trying to stowaway. Read the press statement below:
”Vigilant Aviation Security staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, today, December 2, 2015, apprehended a man, Mr. Alabibu Olushola, who was attempting to stow away in a taxing aircraft on the tarmac of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
The culprit was arrested as soon as he scaled the perimeter fence near the moving aircraft and after interrogation by the Avsec staff, he was immediately handed over to the police for further interrogation.
The Authority wishes to remind members of the public that access to restricted areas of the airport, including the tarmac and perimeter roads, is prohibited for unauthorized people, including airport staff, who have no business being there. This is more so in view of the present security situation in the country.
The Authority will henceforth not hesitate to arrest and prosecute any person, including unauthorized airport staff, who is found loitering around restricted areas of all our airports.”
