The Federal Airports Authority of Nigerian (FAAN) says it has deployed new security equipment at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The development comes months after FAAN said it had received a report on planned attacks on airports across the country.
In an interview with NAN yesterday, Usman Sodiq, aviation security services director at FAAN, said the equipment include screening machines, improvised explosive device (IED) vapour detectors and hand-held scanners.
While noting that some areas in the airports were now automated, he added that the federal executive council (FEC) had approved deployment of K9 dogs — animals trained to assist law enforcement agencies.
He said FAAN had concluded the issue of arms for its personnel to cover areas that ordinarily would not be covered without such kind of protective equipment.
“The deployment of the security equipment was based on the dynamic challenges at the various airports, as well as their respective threat assessments,” Sodiq said.
“Based on threat assessments, we looked at areas that require these equipment. For instance, they called from Makurdi today that they needed additional screening machines. So, we have to work towards that.
“Therefore, it is based on demand and the availability of budget, because we present our budget demands and await results. But we don’t relax. Rather, we ensure that we are provided with most of these requirements.”
According to him, a lot has been covered regarding the new terminals constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).