Nigeria is taking extra steps to keep its airport safe and secure from attacks that could endanger lives and property, says Muhtar Usman, Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Usman spoke amid criticisms from within and outside Nigeria following the recent discovery of a corpse of a man believed to have died trying to stow away on an Arik Air Lagos-New York bound flight. This will be the third time within the last 18 months that the government will announce it was taking extra steps to boost security at the airport following breaches that pose severe threat to lives and property.
The NCAA boss, who addressed the media at the organisation’s office late on Monday, said the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) had written to Nigeria on plans to carry out a safety audit of the nation’s airports by the second quarter of the year. The ICAO is the global regulator of the aviation industry and it also enjoys the backing of the United Nations (UN).
“ICAO will be conducting an aviation safety audit of Nigerian airports by June this year and I want to assure that we are prepared for it,” he said.
“We have already put in place a regime of robust regulations for the audit, which is mandatory because we intend to improve on our safety records. We have started preparing our equipment and manpower to scale through. Even our regulations are being reviewed to bring them in line with modern trends. Nigeria is ready for the audit,” he added.
Critics of Nigeria’s aviation sector have expressed fears that such security lapses that allow a stowaway entry into an aircraft in Nigeria could also easily let in a terrorist. But Usman, who assured that Nigerian airports were safe, despite recent security breach at the Lagos international airport, said incidences of stowaway are global.
“We have ordered the immediate enhancement of security of our airports, particularly the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos,” Usman said.
“But it is important to say that incidences of stowaway are not peculiar to Nigeria. It happens in other countries too,” he added.
The ICAO audit will seek to ensure that Nigerian airports are operating in line with international best practices as it borders particularly on safety. Nigeria already has a Category One safety audit granted last year by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (USFAA).
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