The House of Representatives has called for tighter security in and around airports across the country for better protection of lives and property of air passengers.
The call came after a member, Jide Jimoh, moved a resolution of urgent public significance that was unanimously approved during the plenary on Tuesday.
The House voted to adopt the resolution “Need to Maintain Tight Security in and Around Our Airports and Other Important Facilities,” which asked the federal government to “improve on security standards at the airports, especially investigating technology.”
Also, the legislators encouraged the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and other pertinent aviation agencies to “pay more attention to security concerns and guarantee the lives of citizens are not in any way threatened.”
The House added encouraged security organizations to “make sure that dishonest elements are not permitted to incite disturbance in any guise at the airports.”
Jimoh based his motion on an incident that took place at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Friday night, when Obiajulu Uja, a passenger on an Ibom Air trip between Abuja and Lagos, demonstrated against Bola Tinubu’s inauguration as president on May 29, 2023.
Uja was removed from the aircraft in the viral footage that went viral on Saturday after he began a solitary protest demanding that the President-elect never be sworn in as President.
After delaying the plane for more than an hour, it took no fewer than six airport security guards to help him leave.
Stressing the motion, Jimoh said, “The House notes that a man reportedly caused a stir on an Abuja-Lagos flight over the weekend, thereby holding the aircraft for over an hour as it could not move until operatives of the airport eventually evacuated the man.
“The House further notes that security comes first and there is a need to take permanent and aggressive steps to improve the security of our airports. The event of Friday, March 31, 2023, is a call to take precaution on passengers’ activities in the airports.
“The House is concerned that security at the airports seems relaxed, as the said man should not have been allowed into the aircraft in the first place since reports had been made that the man had allegedly portrayed himself as an irritant around the airport before being cleared into the flight, only for him to constitute himself into a risk.
“The House is further concerned that the lives of the innocent law-abiding citizens on board the aircraft were avoidably endangered by the security breach, whereas the government had the responsibility to protect the citizens at all times.
“The House is convinced that the government or any of its agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, will not shy away from its responsibility.”