Passengers and crew of an Abuja-bound
aircraft belonging to Arik Air were thrown into panic on Tuesday when a
passenger behaving in a strange manner stood up and screamed
Allahu Akbar(God is great) midair.
The scared passengers, who took off
from Maiduguri, Borno State, rushed to the strange passenger identified as
Aminu Galadima, grabbed him and searched him to ascertain if he had a bomb
strapped to his body.
Our correspondent learnt that the
situation made the pilot of the aircraft with registration number 5N MJE
to immediately radio the Air Traffic Control and airport security operatives.
The Special Assistant to the Minister
of Aviation on Media, Mr. Joe Obi, confirmed the development in a statement
made available to our correspondent in Abuja.
Obi said the passenger in question
went through the necessary security checks at the airport and did not raise any
suspicion until he started shouting midair.
He said, “A passenger, Aminu
Galadima, a native of Minna, Niger State, boarded a Maiduguri-Abuja- bound Arik
Air aircraft with registration number 5N MJE after going through mandatory
security screening.
“Nothing incriminating; no explosives
or weapons whatsoever were found on him. However, midair, the passenger began
to act strangely, loudly screaming, ‘God is great.’ Fellow passengers, alarmed
by his behaviour rushed to apprehend him.
“A thorough search by fellow
passengers and crew members revealed nothing dangerous on him. The pilot
immediately radioed Air Traffic Control and airport security operatives.
“The plane landed safely at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at exactly 12.53hrs and the suspect
was handed over to the SSS at about 14.45hrs. He is currently being
interrogated.”
Obi reassured the flying public of
the continued focus of the Ministry of Aviation on the safety and security of
the nation’s airspace and cautioned Nigerians against spreading dangerous
rumours.
Before the official statement by the
authorities , rumours had spread that the plane had been bombed.
Arik also confirmed the arrest of the
man, but denied that a bomb was found on its plane.
In a statement by its Public
Relations and Communications Manager, Mr. Adebanji Ola, the airline said,
“There is no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds that a passenger
attempted to bomb an Arik Air aircraft operating a flight from Maiduguri to
Abuja today, Tuesday, October 23, 2012.
“To set the records straight, a
passenger on board flight W3 812 from Maiduguri to Abuja caused a scare when he
started shouting ‘Allah Akbar’ shortly before the aircraft landed at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The frightened passengers on board the
flight became suspicious, thinking the man was about to do something sinister.
“All the passengers on board the
flight, including the man in question, had all gone through the normal security
checks at the Maiduguri International Airport, and nothing incriminating was
found on anyone.
“However, when the aircraft landed in
Abuja, another security check was conducted on the passenger and nothing
incriminating was found on him. A further security search was conducted on the
operating aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 NG, and no trace of bomb or
explosives was found. The aircraft went back to service
immediately.”
The incident was reminiscent of the
December 25, 2009 bomb attempt on a Detroit-bound plane by a Nigerian
passenger, Mr. Farouk AbdulMuttalab. The plane took off from Nigeria en
route Detroit through Amsterdam.
Barely two weeks after the United
States granted Nigeria Category One certification in August 2010, the Nigerian
aviation industry and security agencies were thrown into confusion, following
an attack on a foreign airline, KLM, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport Abuja.
An aggrieved, passenger whose
identity had been masked by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, had
beaten all security measures to launch an attack on a flight scheduled to
depart for Amsterdam.
The rising incidence of terror
attacks in the Northern part of the country, especially Borno State, from which
the Arik Air aircraft originated its journey, had been a source of worry to
Nigerians.
Borno State, regarded as terror
capital of Nigera, is believed to be home to the Boko Haram Islamic sect.
The group, which was founded by Mohammed Yusuf in
2001, became known internationally following sectarian violence in Nigeria in
July 2009 which left over 1,000 people dead