According to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, at least four people are detained each day at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos for trying to circumvent the law.
Even as the FAAN put measures in place to stop incursions into airports, new technology or improvisation to beat the security is introduced, and when discovered, the agency learns from it to ensure it is not repeated. This came at the same time that the Managing Director, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, claimed that aviation security is reactive.
Yadudu responded to inquiries on the recent stowaway and other security concerns after examining current construction at Runway 18L.
He described the security issue as a race and that despite the daily wins a meagre percentile will be successful and that shames the whole work being done but that has not deterred the authority from it’s continued security upgrades.
He said,”Aviation security is very important component that is reactive. Anytime there is a violation, we learn something and make sure it does not happen again. Across the world security challenges are all over but FAAN what we hardly tell people is that everyday one to five people are arrested and unfortunately, it is maybe the 0.000001 percent that escapes and is successful but we are working on it.
”It is a race, we are always trying to be on top of the race but sometimes something like this happens and thwarts all out work and that is why we say there is a function of security that is reactive.
“100% functional security today but a new technology or new improvisation would all of a sudden render you vulnerable.
Recall FAAN has put in order and awaiting delivery of visual and thermal cameras and other security equipment including motorized surveillance equipment to raise security at the nation’s major airports.
Capt. Yadudu, FAAN had identified various gaps over the years and has solutions for those problems but because FAAN is an agency of government, unlike the private sector, some of those solutions take time to acquire and implement.
Government procedures and the rule of law are important and play a role in everything we do, according to Yadudu. A private airport may encounter a challenge today, but by tomorrow, it will have found a solution. We have solutions to our problems, but in order to put them into practise, we must make sure that the proper procedures are followed.
FAAN is about to purchase visual and thermal infrared cameras, with the visuals covering an area from sunrise to sunset and the thermals from dusk to dawn. A 16km circle with a radius of 8 km will be covered by this.
In a different interview, he stated, "We are purchasing around four of those cameras to cover the airfield. The runway is 3.7km or 3.8km long.