By Kenneth Ehigiator
LAGOS—THE recent embarrassment suffered by the country through the stealing of Independent National Electoral Commission’s Direct Data Capturing, DDC, machines could have been avoided had there been no in-fighting in the joint military patrol set up by the Federal Government to protect the facility against external invasion.

It will be recalled that 20 of those machines were stolen in an operation deemed to be a collaboration between some airport staff and their outside collaborators.

Government had set up the joint military patrol, comprising aviation security personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and men of Nigerian Air Force, NAF, because of absence of a perimeter fencing around the air side of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, which is bounded by Shasha village, a local community.

A source told Vanguard that the joint patrol had been providing security, patrolling the length and breadth of the airport, especially at night, until a division set in along the line.

According to the source, FAAN security personnel had suspected some of the military operatives in their midst and had tried all along to edge them out of the system.

Vanguard learnt that on several occasions, the military personnel in the joint patrol had been left behind whenever it was time to embark on night patrol of the air side of the airport, prompting them to have severally reported to their boss, the airport commandant.

No excuse for lack of logistics

But FAAN’s Director of Airport Security, Wilfred Ogunedo, could not be reached,weekend, as calls on his phone remained unanswered.

To ensure that the airport was properly secured, particularly considering the incident that happened at the Port Harcourt International Airport, where cows strayed onto the runway in the early hours of the morning, government, through FAAN, provided three patrol vehicles, specifically for the purpose.

It was learnt that government’s donation of the vehicles was to ensure that the authorities did not give the excuse of lack of logistics for the operation.

The source told Vanguard that on the night the DDC machines were stolen, the Air Force personnel in the joint patrol were left behind by their aviation security counterparts, and could not access the air side as they had no On Duty Card, ODC, identification and reflective jackets to do so.

The ODCs and reflective jackets are usually in possession of FAAN, being the landlord of the airport, and are distributed to the operatives on each patrol session.

The source who pleaded anonymity said: “The information we had was that those machines were taken in one of the patrol vehicles, painted in yellow colour for illumination purposes at night, to Shasha end of the air side where they were delivered to people across the wall separating the airport from the village.  The forest that separates the air side from the neighbouring village does not also help matters.

“If those military boys were there, this would not have been possible. This joint patrol team was set up also because of reported cases of stealing around the cargo area of the airport.  We do hope whatever grey areas that exist in the relationship between aviation security (AVSEC) and the Air Force is resolved to prevent a recurrence.”

It was gathered that the latest meeting of security committee of the airport, comprising AVSEC, Air Force, police and other security agencies had, in line with a presidential directive, set a machinery in motion to nip the problem in the bud permanently.