Omeogu lamented that these critical equipment were stolen by those mandated to oversee their safety and ensure no foreign object finds its way into the runways of the airports, pointing out that the agency spent huge amount of money replacing the stolen equipment.
Funtua Yakubu, the new Director Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN, was quoted as saying that FAAN has commenced investigations into the issue and assured that the authority will do its best to fish out those behind the criminal act and ensure they face the full wrath of the law.
“Once the investigations are concluded, we will let the public know,” Yakubu said, adding that the investigations would help FAAN find out the lapses that must be addressed to bring an end to such ugly incidents.
Sources at the Lagos airport hinted that these “criminal elements that work at the runways took advantage of the closure of the runway for over three months to carry out the nefarious acts”.
Meanwhile, the airport authorities have suspended some heads of relevant departments at the agency on the directives of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Emmanuel Meribole.
The Lagos airport domestic runway 18Left was shut down to night for about 15 years, due to the absence of airfield lightings. The domestic airlines were forced to use the runway 19 at the international airport, which amounted to additional costs.
The installation of airfield lighting about nine months ago, was a huge relief for airlines, as it brought an end to the additional costs of aircraft landing at the runway 19.