The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has denied the theft of £400 from one Mr Olakunle Tayo Fapohunda, who claimed that some airport security officers stole the money while he was passing through the scanning machine at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) recently.
The Authority stated in an official statement issued on Friday and signed by the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, that they thoroughly investigated the allegation but found it to be false.
FAAN insisted that the CCTV footage clearly showed that neither of the two officers accused touched the tray.
“With regard to Mr. Olakunle Tayo Fapohunda’s allegation that two officials of Aviation Security conspired and stole £400 from his wallet while going through the scanning machine on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, enroute London Heathrow on a Virgin Atlantic flight, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will like to inform you that we have thoroughly investigated the allegation but found it to be untrue, as neither of the two
FAAN agreed that the only person who touched the tray was a NAHCO employee who was directly behind him and only pushed the tray forward to make room for her bag to exit the X-Ray machine.
“We were able to clearly establish that nobody removed anything from Mr Olakunle’s tray throughout his movement within the screening point”
“While we appreciate this feedback and wish to thank him for it, we would like to emphasize that the Aviation Security Corp is a disciplined organization that has consistently recovered and returned many items forgotten or lost by passengers over the years.”
“Although we are aware that a few bad apples exist within the Corp, we would like to assure you that the Authority does not condone such acts of indiscipline, and we have conducted this investigation with the utmost care and due diligence.”
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FAAN also stated that they are willing to make the contents of the CCTV footage available to Mr Olakunle if he so desires.
While advising that we all be cautious about making unsubstantiated allegations public because such acts have the potential to ruin the lives and careers of those involved, we would like to reassure our esteemed passengers that our airports are safe and secure, and our officers will continue to discharge their duties efficiently and professionally,” FAAN added.
