Customs Officials, Claiming They Had Not Been Informed About The Equipment Installation, Reportedly locked The FAAN Security Director Inside A shed.

The confrontation, which lasted for hours, began when FAAN’s Director of Aviation Security Services, Afegbai Albert Igbafe, was overseeing the installation of Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) machines at the Ajantako Terminal around 2:30 PM. Customs officials, claiming they had not been informed about the equipment installation, reportedly locked Igbafe inside a shed.

Igbafe then called for backup, leading to an armed FAAN security unit’s arrival. Customs officers quickly summoned reinforcements from their Ikeja barracks, escalating the situation into a volatile standoff.

Sources indicate that Customs officials attempted to assert control over the airport, but FAAN officials quickly dismissed this claim as “baseless.” A FAAN official stated, “The Nigerian Customs Service is a security agency, but the airport and its operations are managed and controlled by FAAN.”

This standoff highlights a long-standing jurisdictional conflict between the two agencies, with FAAN accusing Customs of frequently disregarding aviation protocols. One source pointed out that Customs’ lack of compliance often disrupts airport operations and compromises safety standards.

Tensions rose further when Customs officials allegedly assaulted FAAN personnel attempting to record the incident on their mobile devices. Witnesses described the attack as unprovoked and reflective of Customs’ disregard for aviation regulations.

This is not the first time such conflicts have arisen between the two agencies:

• January 25, 2022: FAAN and Customs clashed publicly on Twitter after FAAN accused Customs officers of forcefully entering a restricted area at the airport.
• 2020: Customs officers were accused of bypassing security checks to facilitate illegal cash smuggling through the tarmac, with previous reports exposing Customs officers moving large sums of money without proper clearance.
• 2015: Customs officers allegedly tried to access the airport tarmac without proper accreditation and assaulted a FAAN security officer during an inspection by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

In this latest incident, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), which owns the NAHCO Shed, sided with Customs, claiming they were not informed about the ETD machine installation, which further justified the Customs actions.