Election: FG Orders Security Agencies To Begin Search Of Private Jets, Passengers

The Federal Government may have ordered security agencies to
begin search of private jets and their passengers as the 2019
campaigns and other electioneering activities begin.

It was learnt that security agencies including the operatives of
the Department of State Services, Immigration, Customs and the
Special Task Force on Currency at the nation’s airports and private
terminals would soon begin to search every private jet and their
occupants before departures and after arrivals.

Multiple security sources at the Lagos and Abuja airports
confirmed the development.

They were told that as the 2019 elections were drawing near,
intelligence reports had shown that politicians might be trying to
move funds both in local and foreign currencies via their private
jets or hired planes to prosecute the campaigns and elections.

They said the development informed the decision to search the
private jet of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party, Atiku Abubakar, at the Abuja airport last Sunday shortly
after his arrival from Dubai where he had gone for vacation.

It was, however, learnt that the decision to search Atiku’s jet
was a specific order from the Federal Government, even though the
Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, claimed it was a routine
search usually conducted on all arriving passengers.

“Even though it is within our laws that security agencies can
search private jets and their occupants, security agencies have not
been doing this. It may be because there were no threats in the
past. What I can say is that the search of Atiku’s jet is political
because it is not the usual practice; the chief executive officer
of an Abuja-based charter flight operator told our correspondent
under condition of anonymity.

NCAA beef up security at private jet terminals, hangars

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority, the aviation industry regulator, Capt Muktar Usman, has
said the Federal Government will beam its searchlight on all
private jet terminals and private jet flights as campaigns towards
the 2019 elections begin.

He said every election season was usually characterised with
increased level of activities in the private and charter jet
segment of the aviation sector and the agency would ensure no
infraction is committed by any politician, party or charter
operator.

Usman said, “We are all aware that as we are approaching the
election season, there would be more movements in the private and
charter flights segment. We are aware there are more movements, so
the monitoring should be more. We are taking all those things into
consideration. It’s part of our own oversight responsibility and we
are taking things very seriously. So, we are monitoring to ensure
that standards are met and adhered to.

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