How Extortion Compromises Security at Nation’s Airport

Chinedu Eze

Last week, the Aviation Round Table (ART) held a breakfast meeting in Lagos and deliberated on the industry with the theme on airport security. 

In the communiqué the think-tank body released later, it stated among other things that multi-layered security system, which does not necessarily mean physical multi-layer structure but technologically driven security coverage, should be provided for all airports in Nigeria to ensure security of airports, passenger and airports infrastructure.

ART also stated that there was an urgent need for provision of more funding for security at the nation’s airports to enable acquisition and deployment of state-of-the-art security equipment and that there was also the need to reduce the number of physical security checking points at the nation’s airports to enhance passenger facilitation and avoid discouragement of travel by air with unnecessary delays at the airports.

There have been efforts to reduce the number of physical security checkpoints at the airports.

In 2017, the Federal Government Executive Order on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria was launched at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, which removed manual baggage checking counters of the foreign airlines operating at the airport and replaced it with one harmonized screening machine at the airport departure hall. This eased the long queues at the check-in-counters of the airlines but with time the security operatives ganged up and arranged another physical interface with passengers besides the x-ray machine at the entrance to departures.

In June this year a passenger travelling to Doha from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos entered the terminal to check in for his trip. As he pushed his bag into the x-ray machine at the entrance, the security operative, a policeman, standing near the x-ray machine directed him to meet another man. Knowing that the policeman that gave him the directive was not monitoring the computer attached to the x-ray machine to see the content of his luggage, he asked the policeman why he should go and see the other security personnel.

The passenger bluntly told him that he was not going to see anybody that there was nothing in his bag that was prohibitive and attempted to carry his luggage to the airline’s counter. The policeman attempted to stop him and he said, “I have been travelling from this airport for several years. I know the rules and what I have in my bag are clothes and shoes that I need where I am going. I am going to attend a conference. If you stop me I will make sure you leave this airport from today.”

Not knowing who he was, the policeman retreated. Some journalists who were also travelling watched the altercation and were eager to know what the policeman would do next. He left the man who was later identified as senior official of one of the aviation agencies.

Observing activities at the floor above departures on that same day, THISDAY noticed that many passengers who entered the terminal to travel were stopped immediately their luggage rolled out of the x-ray machine located at the gate and were cornered to a kiosk beside the machine where security operatives from different agencies were threatening and extorting money from some passengers. They would ask the passengers to bring their luggage, they would open it and bring out things from the luggage and start threatening them and some of them would bring out money and give to them along with begging. The security operatives have a network and work for themselves across board, from Customs to Immigration, Aviation Security, Quarantine, DSS, police and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). They work together.

Seasoned airport security specialists are of the view that any security system that accepts bribery or extorts money from passengers or any other airport user is compromised because the system is already eroded and rendered porous.

In his presentation at the event, aviation security expert, Dr. Ayodele Obilana spoke on, ‘Addressing Challenges to Passenger Facilitation Process in the Aviation Security Regime’ and noted that the existing security breaches at the Nigerian airports have lingered continuously for decades thereby creating numerous challenges regarding delays, gaps, hindrances and sometimes congestion at Nigeria international airports.

These breaches, he said, impede and negatively impact airport facilitation process and security operations.

He identified some of these anomalies to include multiple and unnecessary checks/regulations. He cited example with the Lagos airport and said that over 15 check points exist on departure and a minimum of five on arrival compared with two or three in the US and other countries for International travelers.

Others include analogue operations, which is doing things the old way or outdated way, which he described as bank pass-book mentality.

Other problems include working at cross-purposes – LEO (Law Enforcement Operatives) causing delay on facilitation; lack of training in many areas (deployment of personnel without training to the airports, gratifications and untouchable personnel); passenger data exchange, which is poorly streamlined at co-located points (Immigration and State security) and corruption and extortion (both on arrival and departure levels), saying that airlines bear the brunt of such corruption

Others also include no clear cut policies, numerous facilitators without specific statutory functions (compound the process), which include personnel profiling passengers at the gates, adding that surge in presence of touts and touting activities remain a great challenge.

He also spoke about obsolete profiling methods of passengers, Illegal profiling methods – violation of passengers right and government interference, this includes deployment of politicians instead of professionals and bad or/summersaulting policies inclusive.

In his recommendation, Obilana demanded for well-structured and articulated systems approach, restructuring in airport facility for speedy processing, funding procurement of required equipment/materials for the processing scheme, training for the process per se (bring all agencies under an operational umbrella), empowerment of NCAA to act decisively and investment in modern technology – e.g. use of machine readable equipment and access control technology.

Other recommendations include discarding analog system or “bank passbook mentality era” of doing things, pre-profiling technologies for airlines and regulatory authorities to upload traveling documents process passenger check in, bag drop off and subject to verification at the airport (e.g. of Covid-19 vaccination cards) and periodic audit to ensure closure of existing gaps.

It is expected that government should review the activity of security operatives and significantly reduce physical interface between passengers and security operatives, using technology. This will reduce the extortion that go on at the airports.