The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has thanked the mother of a 14-year-old girl who was extorted by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for speaking up and bringing the deed to the attention of the public.
The woman had made the tweet, making the allegation on February 19, 2022 that, her daughter, who was to board a Lufthansa Airline flight was extorted of the sum of N8,000. Almost immediately, the authority said it commissioned some of its security officials to investigate the allegation.
A statement by FAAN’s acting general manager, corporate affairs, Mrs. Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, said upon investigation, they found the allegation to be true, as the officers involved were identified with the help of CCTV footage and the cooperation from the NIS.
Consequently, the officers were made to refund the exact amount collected from the passenger, their ‘On Duty’ cards were also withdrawn permanently and they have been banned from working in any Nigerian airport, to serve as deterrent to others.
“We would like to commend the mother of the child, who has confirmed receipt of the money, for deeming it fit to escalate the case and assisting us tremendously in the course of our investigation.
“Also, we would like to express our appreciation to the Comptroller of Immigration, MMA and her team for her cooperation and support in addressing this issue.
“The authority will continue to identify and sanction any airport official (including FAAN officials) found to be extorting passengers or perpetuating any act of illegality at our airports,” the statement said.
