By Chinelo Obogo
The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has distanced itself from a video circulating on the internet where an alleged member of staff of the agency was seen being beaten for trying to traffic drugs.
In a statement, the Authority said the man in the video wearing a reflective jacket, who was made to kneel and was being interrogated and slapped by a passenger for allegedly trying to use him to traffic drugs is a member of staff of an aviation company and not FAAN.
The Director Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, said the employee of the aviation company was said to have approached a passenger to help him convey a parcel through the flight and when the passenger became skeptical, he raised the alarm, alleging that he was being set up for drug trafficking. She said the medication with the name “New Age Glucosamine Chondroitin Sulfate Complex” has been taken to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) for further investigation.
“The attention of the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has been drawn to a video circulating on social media where a supposed staff of the Authority was knelt down and was being slapped by a passenger for trying to use him to traffic drug. It has been identified that the incident took place at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at about 1430hrs at gate 2 boarding gate at ITZ2.
“The Authority wishes to set the records straight by stating that the officer being manhandled in the video is not a member of staff of FAAN. He has been identified as a member of the staff of Pathfinder Company. The employee was said to have approached a passenger to help him convey a parcel through the flight and when the passenger became skeptical, he raised the alarm, alleging that he was being set up for drug trafficking. The employee was immediately arrested for questioning by the Crime Investigation and Intelligence Unit of the Aviation Security Services.
“The passenger involved has since departed on Ibom Air to Accra while the medication with the name “New Age Glucosamine Chondroitin Sulfate Complex” has been taken to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) for further investigation. FAAN is dedicated to a drug-free society and has zero tolerance to drug peddling through her airports,” the statement read.