The Nigerian Customs Service, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Command, has commenced investigation into an incident involving one of its officers and a staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the spokesperson of the command, Mrs Thelma Williams, disclosed this on Friday, while briefing aviation correspondents in Lagos.
NAN reports that a FAAN staff, Mr Taiwo Adeyanju, had on Thursday alleged that he was assaulted by a Customs officer simply identified as H. Daboh.
Adeyanju had claimed that he was tear-gassed and beaten by the officer over a clash of right of way near the Palace Gate of the Cargo Terminal of the MMIA.
However, Williams said the investigation was imperative to ascertain the veracity of Adeyanju’s allegations.
According to her, preliminary findings by the NCS had revealed that the officer was not trying to gain access into the Palace Gate, as alleged by the FAAN staff.
She noted that the officer had made a turn towards the Hajj Camp axis of the road, when the FAAN staff, in company of others blocked his car.
The command’s spokesperson further clarified that the officer was not taken to the Airport Police Station, but reported the incident officially to his superiors.
Williams said it was important to clear the air on the matter because of information being pushed out to the public that the officer battered the FAAN staff and damaged his car.
She said: “At no time did our officer try or attempt to access the monument’s gate, as is being alleged.
“Rather, the officer in question veered off the road to drop off a friend, only to be barricaded by a FAAN staff in the company of four other FAAN workers.
“He tried to inquire the reason for the barricade and this led to an argument, which further culminated in a scuffle.
“There was never a point that our officer was taken to the Police Station, as reported in the press. The incident was actually a misunderstanding of the right of use of way on the Airport Boulevard.”
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