TheCable

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it nabbed and suspended some officials for allegedly extorting a passenger at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The sanction was announced in a statement released on the agency’s Facebook page on Saturday.

The statement, which was signed by Henrietta Yakubu, general manager, corporate affairs of FAAN, revealed the officials are staff members of the aviation security and customer service departments of the authority, and they have been dealt with accordingly.

She also added that the on-duty cards of their accomplice from the Nigerian Immigration Service have also been immediately withdrawn.

Yakubu said the action “is in line with the management’s determination to rid the nation’s airport of corrupt officials.” She concluded that the development will “serve as a deterrent to other bad eggs in the system that is bent on tarnishing the image of the nation”.

“In line with the management’s determination to rid the nation’s airport of corrupt officials, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has apprehended and suspended officials caught extorting a passenger at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos,” the statement read.

“The officials, who are staff of Aviation Security and Customer Service departments of the Authority, were immediately suspended, while the on-duty card of their accomplice from the Nigeria Immigration Service has been withdrawn.

“This action was taken to serve as a deterrent to other bad eggs in the system that is bent on tarnishing the image of the nation.”

The development is the second time this month that FAAN will be sanctioning airport workers.

On November 10, the authority seized the on-duty cards of some staff members of an unnamed airline and handed them over to appropriate bodies for allegedly soliciting bribes from travellers.