The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has assured airport users and passengers that its security architecture at the nation’s airports is formidable and tight, saying trained security personnel are manning all strategic areas and key assets.
The agency’s assurance to stakeholders came on the heels of the recent bombing of the Abuja-Kaduna railway by suspected terrorists.
The Nigeria Railway Corporation was forced to stop services on the Abuja-Kaduna route for two days after part of the train track around Rijana and Dutse in Kaduna State was blasted with explosives about two weeks ago.
Asked whether Nigerian airports were secure enough to avert such occurrence, the Managing Director, FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, said the airport security architecture was designed to ensure people are safe.
Yadudu, who spoke on the side-lines of the Airport Council International-Africa Security Week held in Abuja recently, “Airports operate with a lot of security challenges and we cannot have an airport operating successfully if you have security challenges that are beyond you. So we need to always be on top and well ahead of our security challenges.
“Our security programme for the airport is approved by the Civil Aviation Authority and that is not an arbitrary approval. It is a regulated approval from the CAA, which means it is very appropriate. So we have no issues with security.”
He added, “However, on being up to date, I will say security is a living process. You may have an airport that is fully protected with security infrastructure, then suddenly something might happen or a new technology might come and render your up-to-date security arrangement vulnerable.”
“That is why I say it is a living process, but we keep working hard to ensure that we strengthen our security architecture, the processes, training and awareness. And this is one of such awareness programmes.”
He said the airports had security committees, which held meetings every week.
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“We integrate, communicate and collaborate with the communities and it is an ongoing process. We make sure we carry all our stakeholders in terms of security,” Yadudu stated.
On when aviation security officers would be armed, he said although the Federal Executive Council had approved the proposal, FAAN would ensure that all infrastructure, training and personnel required were ready before executing such policy.
Yadudu said, “Approval is one thing and the most important aspect of arming the security, but you know, FAAN is a government enterprise and everything here must follow due process to ensure transparency and accountability.
“Right now, we are at a very advance stage, but remember that it is part of our due diligence that when we get approval we have to do a lot of work to make sure that by the time we have the arms, we are set to deploy.
“And it is not only the arms, when you get the arms, we prefer not to deploy until we get the necessary infrastructure on ground to accommodate the arms, the training, the people, proper profiling, etc.”
SOURCE : Punch
