Lagos airport: A gateway bereft of alluring features

• Murtala Muhammed International Airport

THE twin problems of incessant robbery attacks and traffic congestion have made the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, particularly its international wing, to be less friendly to passengers and other visitors.

With Lagos being the nation’s commercial nerve centre, the airport is understandably the busiest in the country. That status may have made it alluring to robbers and other hoodlums.

All over the world, airports are seen as places where security and safety are guaranteed. In Nigeria, the pervading national security challenge has found expression at this strategic gateway.

The Lagos airport is a place where orderliness has taken flight, with irregular electricity supply lacking; a ‘hellish’ place where passenger facilitation is not only cumbersome but one that has made travelling uninteresting.

Investigations on Boko Haram in Lagos Ongoing, Says Army Nigerian-Army-Peace-Keeping

Following last week's raid on the building housing the suspected Boko Haram members at the Ijora-Badia area of Lagos by operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) and Operation Mesa (OP Mesa), the Nigerian Army Monday said investigations were ongoing.

This is just as the security agencies, including the police and the Lagos State Government, Monday transferred about 100 foreign suspects in their custody to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Lagos for prosecution and possible deportation.

Another suspected terrorists hide out discovered in Lagos

• The Suspects hideout

Fresh facts emerged, Monday, on the presence of more illegal aliens suspected to be terrorists in Ijora area of Lagos, as information at Vanguard’s disposal revealed that the suspects, who are Malians and Chadians, were occupying a three-storey building owned by a state government.

Last Thursday’s raid by the Department of State Security, DSS, and men of OP Messa, led to the arrest of two suspected terrorists and recovery of arms and explosives in a building on Aromire Street, Ijora.

Fashola Swears In Two New Permsecs, Urges Adherence To Oaths Of Office

• Gov. Fashola

March 26, 2013

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Monday presided over the swearing-in of two new Permanent Secretaries in the State’s Civil Service urging public officers to adhere strictly to the oaths of office they took on their inauguration.

Governor Fashola, who spoke after presiding over the swearing-in ceremony of Mrs. Helen Morenike Deile as Auditor-General and Permanent Secretary and Mr. Hakeem Adeniyi Ogunbambi as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment at the Chambers of the State Executive Council, said the oaths were very important commitments by the officers to the people on behalf of whom they exercise authority.

Boko Haram: Unwanted guests on the prowl

March 26, 2013

• Boko Haram members

Against the backdrop of arrest of five suspected members of Boko Haram in Lagos last week, BUKOLA ADEBAYO writes that a possible invasion of the South-West by the dreaded Islamic sect may spell doom for the Nigerian economy

A bomb explosion in Lagos spells nothing but doom for not only the residents but also the whole country. The state is home to about 18 million Nigerians. It is not just the centre of excellence, it is also the commercial hub of the country. So, any act of terrorism there would have a more damaging impact than in any other city in the country.

 Already, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Maiduguri have become danger zones since Boko Haram began to unleash the reign of terror on the North. Many residents of these cities now live in perpetual fear as their workplaces, markets, churches or residences could be the target of unprovoked violence.

Lagosians’ worst fear came to pass with last Thursday’s arrests of five suspected terrorists at their hideout in Ijora, after a raid by men of the State Security Service in collaboration with military personnel.

Boko Haram in Lagos

• One of the houses (arrowed) where the suspects were arrested

It is very obvious now that the members of Boko Haram have already infiltrated the South-West area, particularly the Hausa Community, given the discovery made by soldiers in Lagos last Thursday. The security agents, soldiers, police, SSS, civil defence and other agencies of state should be at alert and vigilant on any tip-off received.