By Louis Ibah
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), yesterday, dismissed allegations of buglers breaking into moving aircraft and stealing passengers’ baggage at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, describing such an occurrence as “impossible”.
The rebuttal comes following allegations on Tuesday by two prominent Nigerian artistes – Tiwa Savage and Ayo Balogun (popularly known as Wizkid) – that the cargo compartment of the chartered private jet they flew from Uyo to Lagos was burgled while taxing to its hanger and their luggage stolen.
Recall that on the night of December 12, 2017, a burglary incident was reported to have occurred on a Vista Jet aircraft with Call Sign VJT 584, while taxiing to the hangar of Evergreen Apple Nigeria (EAN) Limited.
“It is not possible for anyone to burgle an aircraft in motion,” said Henrietta Yakubu, spokeswoman for FAAN. “It is practically impossible for an aircraft to be burgled within our runways and aprons. We hereby dispel such allegations as baseless and practically impossible,” she added.
Yakubu explained that in both instances, preliminary findings from investigations conducted by an inter-agency committee set up to probe the allegations could not substantiate the claims.
The purported victims in the said cases also did not make themselves available for questioning, in the quest to unravel the case. “Aircraft are highly technical machines. It is practically impossible for anyone who does not have the requisite training and competence to operate or tamper with the baggage compartment,” she added.