The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has enhanced security measures at Nigerian airports, particularly international ones, to align with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Standard and Recommended Practices.
In line with the upgrades, FAAN has replaced much of the old security equipment with modern, state-of-the-art alternatives at key areas of the airports, particularly at international terminals.
Additionally, the agency has trained Aviation Security personnel to operate the new equipment efficiently, enhancing overall security and operational effectiveness.
FAAN has also addressed the issue of security operatives allegedly extorting passengers at departure tables by removing the notorious search tables.
In their place, an alternative system has been implemented, allowing security officials to monitor passengers’ luggage through computer systems, enhancing security while eliminating the need for physical searches at the terminals.
The new security equipment has the ability to single out all the prohibited items, including drugs, currencies, medicines and others simultaneously, thus making physical search of the luggage unnecessary, except those specially identified by the new system.
This was disclosed by FAAN’s Director of Aviation Security Services, Afegbai Albert Igbafe, while addressing pressmen during a recent tour of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport terminals in Lagos.
He noted that FAAN has thoroughly upgraded security equipment at key areas of both passenger and cargo terminals.
The newly installed equipment at MMIA is equipped with advanced imaging capabilities, including the Classic 4-color and the proprietary Spectrum 4-color options.
These upgrades provide superior image quality, allowing for quick and accurate identification of threats, thereby enhancing security.
Igbafe stated that once FAAN completes the installation of all screening machines and monitors, each security agency will have its own dedicated monitor.
“The tables you see will be a thing of the past, you will not see any table here. There will be no physical contact, because what we are also doing is that when we fix those monitors and the machines dictate unaccepted objects, the concerned officials will take the passenger and his or her baggage to designated areas for physical checks.
“The designated areas will also have CCTV cameras. This is to ensure the passengers are not being exploited. When the machines dictate something, the Aviation Security (AVSEC) calls the relevant agencies such as National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Customs, Quarantine, amongst others to follow up,” Igbafe expounded.
Igbafe further explained that FAAN is expanding the system to include six monitors, one for each of the six security agencies at the airport. This will allow officials from each agency to sit and monitor the bags on their own screens, improving coordination and enhancing the overall security process.
“Custom will have their screen. The Quarantine will have their screen and others will also have theirs. So, everybody will sit down while the bags go through the machines,” he said.
Speaking on AVSEC’s collaboration with the NDLEA in terms of drug investigation, he said, “Before we bought the new machines, our machines were not detecting some drugs but with the new machines, we will start to train some of the security agencies, like the NDLEA, the DSS, the immigration and the quarantine.
Also speaking during the tour, Head of Department, ICT, at MMIA, Lagos, Chima Oge, explained that the machine offers advanced features for accurate and rapid identification of organic materials. It operates in two modes: Range Mode, which highlights areas based on a range selected by the operator, and Interactive Mode, which allows the operator to display areas based on pixel values, further enhancing the precision of security screenings.
Over the years, air travelers and industry stakeholders have raised concerns about the security tables where operatives from agencies like NDLEA, Quarantine, and Nigeria Customs Service conduct secondary checks after baggage has already been screened by scanning machines.
These additional checks have been seen as a source of delays and unnecessary duplication of security measures, affecting overall efficiency at the airport.
