By Chinelo Obogo
The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, on Monday, June 24 , 2024,commissioned 120 officers of the Aviation Security (AVSEC) Special Force that have been trained to bear arms as part of her mission to beef up security across airports in the country.
Mrs. Kuku, who spoke at the commissioning of 30 of the personnel at the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos, said it is a remarkable moment for the agency as it takes constructive steps to get Nigeria aviation security team kitted in line with the global standards.
According to the FAAN MD, “This is for them to help us in terms of securing our assets, in terms of helping to secure lives, as well as the people within the aviation environment specifically at the airports. So again, as I mentioned, it’s remarkable for us, we’re happy that we spent a significant amount of time in terms of training them, in terms of identifying the sorts of individuals that are part of this squad. They’re quite professional, as you can see, and they will continue to engage as well as work closely with other security agencies.”
She allayed any fears of the security team deploying arms for use as excessive force in the course of their duty, even as she cautioned passengers and airports users to go about their businesses in an orderly manners.
She reiterated that “the arms they carry today shows that they are now an elite squad that will complement the aviation security staff that we have. What is critical is that we want to make sure that we can deter people. We hope that we do not have to use force . In the event that they need to, they will coordinate with all of the other security agencies. The focus is to make sure that they are helping us in terms of executing all of our desires, specifically around making sure that there are no illegal activities that go on.
“We are starting with the five international airports. That’s Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Enugu. There is a similar exercise going on. We do have about 120 people who have been trained. It is a recurring training program. In Lagos, I believe we have about 30 of them.”
She expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development , Mr Festus Keyamo and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu for their support in achieving the objective.
On collaboration with other security agencies at the airports, she said, “We’re also collaborating very closely with all of the security agencies across the airports. I know that the leaders of every single one of those started meeting with them. I was with the Chief of Air Staff last week in Abuja, and he’s working very closely with us.”