The Airport Command of the Nigeria Police Force has arrested
three teenagers for allegedly attempting to illegally board some international
flights in Lagos.
Commissioner of Police for the command, Salahu Waheed, said
the suspects, Lateef Popoola, 13; Amadi Joshua, 14; and Ukpabio Onyedikachi, 14,
were arrested at different times at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport,
Ikeja.
Waheed, while handing over the suspects to their mothers,
said there was a need for their respective state governments to rehabilitate
them like the Edo State Government did with teenage stowaway, Daniel Ihekina,
who was arrested on August 24, 2013 after sneaking into the tyre compartment of
a Lagos-bound Arik plane.
He said, “These boys were found at different times at
Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Their aim was to get into any
plane and travel out of Nigeria.
“I decided to hand them over to their parents so they will
be well taken care of and stop dwelling on the fantasy that you can just come
into the airport, enter a plane and travel.
“Their state governments should try to rehabilitate them
just like Edo State did for the stowaway in Benin.
“Lateef Popoola is from Ogun State; Amadi Joshua is from
Ebonyi while Ukpabio Onyedikachi is from Abia State.
“The airport is not a place that you can just come into and
travel. There are formalities. We don’t want to see these children here again.”
The teenagers, who spoke to PUNCH Metro, said they had been
nursing the idea of travelling abroad, adding that they were not ready to
execute their plans yet.
Lateef said he went to the tarmac to observe how aeroplanes
take off and land.
He said he was able to gain access to the runaway by
sneaking into an airport apron bus, but was arrested shortly after alighting.
He said, “I am not in school, I dropped out in Primary
three. I was arrested last week Wednesday. I actually wanted to travel but I
have yet to decided where I will go. So, I just went to the tarmac to see the
aeroplanes.”
Lateef’s grandmother, Adunni, said she had no idea that her
grandson was nursing the idea of travelling out of the country. She said she
had been responsible for his upkeep since his mother abandoned him at infancy.
“I did not know that he wanted to travel. I just did not see
him last week and I started looking for him all over the place. It was on
Saturday that I finally found out that he had been arrested,” she said.
Onyedikachi and Joshua were said to have been arrested after
asking some security agents where Malaysia flights were boarding.
After being questioned, the boys, who are both in SS1, said
they had no travel documents and were immediately arrested.
Police said Onyedikachi’s brother was in Malaysia and it was
possible that the teenager wanted to travel out to see his brother.
Onyedikachi, however said, “We were at the departure area of
the airport. We did not attempt to travel out. We were just loitering and
wanted to see the aeroplanes. We did not want to travel out on that day.”
Onyedikachi’s mother berated her son for his escapade. She
said she had warned him and Joshua to be well behaved at all times.
She said, “I had no knowledge of what they did. Onyedikachi
is well taken care of and is not suffering. I don’t know what pushed him to do
this.”
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