The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has confirmed the extortion of a 14-year-old passenger by its officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State.
The mother of the passenger Imoteda Aladekomo had tweeted a complaint at FAAN on how “Immigration took all…money” from the 14-year-old before they let her go.
“They took money …and didn’t even leave her with 1kobo or 1 thousand naira so she can buy food while she waits,” Aladekomo tweeted in February.
“Why are you stealing money from a child! And you took all of it and didn’t let her call her mother?.”
FAAN spokesperson Faithful Hope-Ivbaze in a statement said a team of FAAN Aviation Security officers were commissioned to investigate the allegation and confirmed the extortion.
She said the officials “were made to refund the exact amount collected from the passenger.”
"They deemed the accusation to be genuine after conducting an investigation, as the officers involved were identified using footage from our CCTV facility and cooperation from the Nigerian Immigration Service," Hope-Ivbaze said.
The officials' On Duty Cards have been permanently withdrawn, according to an FAAN representative.
"To act as a deterrence to others, they have been barred from working in any Nigerian airport," Hope-Ivbaze added.
She praised the child's mother, who "confirmed receipt of the money," for deciding to escalate the issue and cooperating with officials during the inquiry.
\ "Any airport official (including FAAN officials) discovered extorting passengers or perpetrating any act of criminality at our airports will continue to be identified and sanctioned," she warned.
