The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it is taking decisive steps towards eliminating touting, extortion, and illicit activities at airports.
The managing director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku who on the assumption of duty, has been expressing zero tolerance for the activities of the undesirable elements has therefore vowed to rid the airports of such illegalities in line with what she called the renewed hope agenda of the government.
To fulfil her mandate of making the airports conducive for the ease of doing business, FAAN will from Monday begin amplifying the activities of the new task force set up to go after the perpetrators of the criminal activities for prosecution.
In a memo from the office of the FAAN MD and copied to all directors and airport managers, dated June 21, 2021, titled: ‘Touting/illicit activities at the airports’, the organization attributed its resolve to clamp down on the criminals from today to the increase in the illicit activities at the airports.
According to the memo: “Any individual or organization caught in violation or conducting any such activities which include touting, loitering or illicit activities within the airports will be duly prosecuted and fined according to the FAAN bylaws.”
The task force team which consist of FAAN Aviation Security (AVSEC) and the Air Force, is being led by the Director of Special Duties at FAAN, Mr Henry Agbebire as the chairman.
FAAN said it also has plans to engage all government agencies operating at the airports to ensure compliance with the anti-touting and anti-extortion measures.
The agency’s boss also stated that magistrate courts will soon be established at the nation’s international airports to prosecute offenders.
The issue of touting and extortion of air travellers has become a cause for concern among the different stakeholders including passengers, other airport users and the Federal Government in view of the bad image such illegalities have continued to create for the country.
Top on the list of the perpetrators of such heinous crimes include touts many of whom have been discovered to be former workers of the airlines who having been disengaged found their way back to the system to capitalize on their experience while in active service to defraud innocent air travellers.
Also guilty of the illegalities are many uniform personnel who regularly use their status to extort passengers as they use their positions as security officials to carry out criminal activities, particularly at the international airports.
Such illegal activities have not exempted uniform personnel that cut across police customs, immigration, FAAN security, NDLEA and others who have turned the international airports into their mining fields.
The activities of the identified groups have not even exempted foreigners with those affected using their bad experiences in their hands to cast aspersions on the entire country as being corrupt.
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