The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has reacted to a viral video showing a man suspected to be one of its workers being accused by a passenger of attempting to use him to traffic drugs.
The incident took place at a boarding gate of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, on Tuesday.
Reacting in a statement released on Wednesday, Mrs Obiageli Orah, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN, clarified that the man in question is not an employee of FAAN, instead, he is an employee of an aviation services company operating within the airport premises.
The officer, who was seen in the video attempting to ferry a parcel through a passenger jetting to Accra, has been arrested and handed over to security operatives for interrogation.
The passenger, after raising an alarm alleging he was being set up for drug trafficking, resorted to slapping the officer whom he had compelled to kneel before him.
“The attention of FAAN has been drawn to a video circulating in the social media where a supposed employee of the Authority was being slapped by a passenger for trying to use him to traffic drug.
“It has been identified that the incident took place at a boarding gate of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, on Tuesday.
“FAAN wishes to set the records straight by stating that the officer being manhandled in the video is not an employee of FAAN.
“He has been identified as a member of staff of an aviation services
company.
“When the passenger became sceptical, he raised an alarm, alleging that he was being set up for drug trafficking.
“The employee was immediately arrested for questioning. The passenger involved has since departed to Accra while the medication with the name ‘New age glucosamine chondroitin sulphate complex’ has been taken to the NDLEA for further investigation.
“FAAN is dedicated to a drug-free society and has zero tolerance for drug peddling through the nation’s airports,” Orah stated.
