Tasew: There’s Diplomatic Negotiation to Release Nigerians Detained in Ethiopia

* Denies maltreatment of Nigerians in detentionChinedu Eze

Nigeria and Ethiopia are collaborating at the diplomatic level to release Nigerian passengers who were arrested and detained on various infractions against country’s travel regulations, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Mesfin Tasew has disclosed.

Tasew, also denied media reports that Ethiopian authorities maltreated Nigerians who were detained in the East African nation whose number was put at 270.
The Group CEO who spoke in an interview with Nigerian journalists in Addis Ababa, recently, said the airline had made efforts to educate its passengers on Ethiopia’s rules concerning declaration of valuables upon arrival at the capital city, but some passengers still refuse to comply.

Tasew, who indicated that the airline has a lot of respect for its travelers, especially Nigerian passengers, said like any other international airport in the world, as passengers transit through Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, they undergo screening and, in the process, there are certain checks that are carried out by security operatives from Ethiopian government.

He said sometimes during the security screening process, Ethiopian officials could find people who were not in compliance with both the national regulation and international security practices.
“About 70 per cent of our passengers transit through Addis Ababa. It’s only 30 per cent that come in and go out to the city and the transit time in Addis Ababa varies from 20 minutes to few hours. Some passengers just disembark from one aircraft and board the next aircraft in 20 minutes. Sometimes it may go up to four hours but most are within a range of one hour and two hours.

“If some passengers are found carrying drugs, they will not be allowed to continue their flight. The security people will take them under custody. If they are found carrying weapons without permission, they do the same thing until they investigate them and see that it is an approved weapon.
“The second problem that we witness is that some people carry a lot of valuables like gold in large sizes or dollars in millions of cash in their bags.

“If they are transiting without coming into the city, the security won’t touch them. They can carry the money because it’s their money, they are not coming to the country. However, if they want to pass a day or a night in the city to get their connection and they have to come out to this hotel (Skylight Hotel), the national regulation says that all passengers carrying over $10,000 its equivalent or gold beyond the normal ornaments, have to declare it to Customs on arrival.”

“You have to tell them, ‘Oh, I am carrying $30,000’. They may ask you, where is it? You can take it out from your bag, show them.  You sign on a piece of paper and the next morning when you go out, as you pass through the X-ray (security screening machine), there are Customs people there. If they see it, they ask if you have the permit to carry this money. If you show that paper, nothing will happen,” the Group CEO said.

He explained that a passenger was free to carry items and cash through the airport as long as he would not leave the airside of the airport to the city or the landside of the airport.
“You are free to carry out your money, even if it is a million dollar. All they are asking is that you declare it. If you are not declaring it, they assume that it’s not your money and that somebody in the city has given it to you, so it is illegal to take out this money. They confiscate the money,” he said.

Tasew, pointed out that some passengers say the reason they don’t declare the cash they carry was because they are afraid that if they do so, people would follow them to the hotel and steal the money and that he discussed this issue with the Nigeria’s former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and told him that each hotel room has a safe box where they can put their valuables, including money, and bring the key.

He said: “We established a hotel within the terminal where passengers can sleep and which has the same standard to good hotels elsewhere. So, passengers can stay in those hotels with their valuables, without declaring because they don’t pass through customs.”