by Topsy Oba
There was apprehension on board an Arik Air flight from Maiduguri to Abuja yesterday.
The apprehension spread to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, following allegation that a passenger on board the commercial flight from Maiduguri to Abuja, was laden with explosives.
The suspect, whose name was given as Aminu Galadima, a native of Minna in Niger State, had boarded the flight marked 5N MJE from the Borno State capital and was on his way to Abuja when he started behaving strangely in the aircraft.
The man was reported to have started chanting ‘God is Great! God is Great!, thereby raising suspicion that he might be a potential terrorist bent on blowing up the plane with the passengers and crew.
Anxious passengers, who saw the unruly behaviour of the passenger, raised alarm and apprehended the man.
The pilot was said to have immediately contacted the Air Traffic Control Tower and security agencies, alerting them that they had a security scare on board and pleaded with them to take actions to apprehend the passenger as soon as the plane landed.
Surprisingly, when the plane landed at about 12:53 p.m and a thorough search carried out on the man by security agents and fellow passengers showed that no dangerous item was found on him.
Despite that, the suspect was promptly handed over to the operatives of the State Security Service, SSS, for further interrogation. He was yet to be released as at press time.
Suspect mentally unstable —Aviation Ministry
Reacting to the development, the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the State Security Service, SSS, said the man was mentally unstable.
The ministry and the SSS, in separate statements in Abuja, clarified that the passenger after going through all mandatory security screenings behaved abnormally but that nothing incriminating, explosives or weapons whatsoever were found on him.
The statement by the Ministry of Aviation read in part: “Mid air, the passenger began to act strangely, loudly screaming Allah Akubar ‘God is Great.’ Fellow passengers, alarmed by this behaviour rushed to apprehend him. A thorough search by fellow passengers and crew members revealed nothing dangerous on him. The pilot immediately radioed Air Traffic Control and airport security operatives.
“The plane landed safely at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at exactly 1253 hrs and the suspect handed over to the SSS at about 1445 hrs where he is currently being interrogated.
“We wish to reassure the flying public of the continued focus of the Federal Ministry of Aviation on the safety and security of the nation’s airspace, while cautioning fellow Nigerians on spreading dangerous rumours. These rumours do not help to make our airspace either safer or more secured.”
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