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 were 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.”
Source: Punch Nigeria
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