Minister suspends 3 airport officials over security breach

The minister of state for aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika has suspended three staff of the  Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, over what he called a security breach.

Leadership Newspapers reports that passengers protesting the misplacement of their luggages by Turkish Airlines gained access to the tarmac and allegedly stopped a Turkish Airline flight from taking off.

Sirika said “There has been an unfortunate incident where some agitated passengers of the Turkish Airlines arrived without their luggage, making them to force their way into the tarmac which is a breach of security.

“The explanation given is not satisfactory because the primary purpose of the government is to ensure safety of lives and property of its citizens.

“We have ordered investigation into the matter immediately and all the people that are manning the various places, Airport Manager, Terminal Manager and Head of Security, should hand over to the next man in rank pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The three suspended staff are the Airport Manager, Terminal Manager and Head of Airport Security. They were asked by the minister to hand over to the next senior officer in their department.