Military and Department of State Services comb airports for Boko Haram spies

Prosper

The Defence Headquarters and the Department of State Services, on Saturday, said they were hunting for members of Boko Haram at airports and major public facilities in the country.

The security measure became necessary as the DSS revealed that it had uncovered a plot by Boko Haram to bomb the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The intelligence agency also smashed a spy network mounted by the terrorist group at the airport.

Following the development, the service and the military have stepped up security at all airports across the country to frustrate other similar plots.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria controls 22 federal airports in the country.

The DSS, in a statement on Saturday by an official, Tony Opuiyo, stated that it apprehended a 14-year-old boy from Kogi State, Sulaiymon Abdulrahman, aka Sunday Ajayi, who was monitoring travellers’ movement, including passenger screening, boarding procedures and other process in the departure and arrival halls.

It explained that on August 24, 2015, the agency, in liaison with NAIA aviation security, arrested Abdulrahman, who confessed that he infiltrated the airport with the assistance of one Dauda Sadiq, aka Peter, who was still at large.

The service said Abdulrahman added that Sadiq directed him to spy on the installation and pass to him information with regard to travellers’ movement, boarding procedures and other process at the airport.

The DSS said, “With this knowledge, the service is working closely with major aviation stakeholders, especially the Aviation Security Department, to forestall any possible attack and to ensure adequate security at the airports.

“This is aside other measures, which have been put in place to ensure protection of lives and property across the country.”

The service reminded the public to remain vigilant and patriotic by being security conscious at all times.

It further urged them to report all issues and persons of suspicion to the nearest security agency.

“The public is further enjoined to assist with information that could be useful in stamping out insecurity with a view to making Nigeria safe,” the DSS said.

SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that the suspected Boko Haram spy had approached the screening point boldly without having any travel documents.

It was also gathered that he lied to aviation security screening officials that his uncle was with his travel documents and had already undergone screening, adding that the said uncle was seated inside the departure lounge with passengers who had been screened.

The spokesperson for the NAIA, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, told one of our correspondents that the incident was shrewdly handled by aviation security personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

She said, “I spoke with our head of security and was made to understand that it happened on August 20. It was FAAN security that arrested the boy under shady circumstances and handed him over to the DSS for interrogation.

“He was arrested at our screening point while trying to pass through the screening without having a ticket or passport. As usual for international screening, passengers must show their passports and tickets to prove that they are travelling. But he didn’t have any of these.

“He claimed that his uncle was already inside with his ticket and passport. So, a security officer followed him inside. The officer and the boy (the suspect) looked around and didn’t find his uncle, and it was discovered that he was telling lies. So, FAAN security officials handed him over to the DSS.”

Yakubu noted that the AVSEC officials were alert and the level of consciousness had been increased, “otherwise the boy would have passed through and would have breached the security process.”

At the NAIA on Saturday, one of our correspondents observed that there was heavy security presence.

A bomb detector, the Nigeria Police, the military and some plain-clothed security men were strategically stationed a few metres away from the toll gate of the airport.

It was gathered that although security officials had consistently manned the NAIA since Boko Haram intensified its attacks, the number of armed officials deployed in the facility in the past two weeks had been higher than normal.

One of the aviation security personnel at the Abuja airport, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on condition of anonymity, said, “AVSEC is the official security outfit in charge of security matters generally at the airports but our strength, security wise, is limited. That is why since the advent of insurgency and its threat to the flying public, the Federal Government, in its wisdom, has continually supported us with officers from the DSS, the police and the military.

“But we sense that there is something going on or maybe the security guys are working on intelligence. In the past two weeks, we’ve noticed that there’s been an increased presence of armed security men around this airport.

“It is no surprise to hear that the terrorists are spying and trying to attack. But I can assure you that the security officials on the ground are doing their best to ensure that this place is safe.”

Also, the Acting Director, Defence Information, Col. Rabe Abubakar, urged Nigerians not to panic, as security agencies maintained a strong presence in all the vulnerable and key points within the country.

He said the military and security agencies were always alert at such vulnerable points, to which the airports belong.

Abubakar added that the security agencies would not take chances with security, as they had continued to have a strong presence not only at the airport but at other vulnerable points.

The spokesman added, “We are always at alert at any vulnerable and key point; our troops are always there. We cannot take chances with anything that concerns security and that includes the ones we see and the ones we don’t see.

“We have to be vigilant, and our men are always at the key points. We will not joke with any security situation. So, it is a normal thing to have security presence in such places, even though, based on intelligence, we beef up. Even before such intelligence, our people are always there.

“People shouldn’t be scared unnecessarily; people should know that there is a strong security presence in all the vulnerable and key points.”
Source: PUNCH