By Adeola Kunle
The Nigeria Police have confirmed that five vehicles linked to Air Peace are now in custody as investigations continue into the recent blockade of operations at the Lagos airport.
The number of vehicles impounded has increased from the three initially reported to five. The vehicles currently held by the police are marked AJJ 589EX, KTU 440EZ, AAA 831F, KTU 85FH and EPE 656HF.
The vehicles were allegedly driven onto the airside of the Lagos airport by persons suspected to be Air Peace staff, causing disruption to the movement of aircraft and raising concerns about the safety and smooth operation of the airport.
Earlier reports indicated that three Air Peace buses had been towed away and handed over to the police by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria after they were discovered parked in positions considered capable of obstructing airport activities.
However, further findings showed that the number of vehicles under police investigation had risen to five.
The spokesperson for the Airport Command of the Nigeria Police, Muhammed Adeola, confirmed that all five vehicles were being held by the police.
Adeola said investigators had contacted Air Peace and requested that the airline identify and present the drivers responsible for taking the vehicles into the restricted area of the airport.
According to him, the airline suggested that impostors or saboteurs might have been behind the incident and promised to carry out an internal investigation to determine those responsible.
As of the time of the report, Air Peace had yet to provide the police with the outcome of its investigation.
Adeola said the vehicles would remain in police custody until those who drove them to the sensitive airport area were identified and presented for questioning.
He said:
“Yes, you are correct, there are five in our compound. When we started our investigation, we met with Air Peace and expected them to provide us with the drivers. But they told us that they believed some saboteurs must have driven their vehicles and all of that.
“They then promised to conduct an internal investigation and provide us with whoever they found to have driven the buses. Until then, the vehicles will be in our possession, since we must know those who attempted to disrupt the smooth running of airport operations.”
The incident occurred during an industrial action by aviation unions over allegations that Air Peace failed to remit the statutory five per cent Ticket Sales Charge to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
The industrial action disrupted Air Peace operations at the Lagos and Abuja airports, leaving passengers stranded and forcing many travellers to seek alternative means of transportation.
The unions accused Air Peace of being the largest debtor among airlines owing funds meant for the NCAA.
Before embarking on the action, the aviation unions had issued three separate warnings and threatened to picket airlines accused of failing to remit the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
They also alleged that some domestic airlines had restricted workers from freely joining trade unions, claiming that employees were afraid of discrimination or victimisation if they expressed interest in union membership.
The unions maintained that the industrial action was taken only after several weeks of warnings and opportunities for the affected airlines to address the issues.
Efforts to obtain a response from Air Peace were unsuccessful, as the airline’s spokesman, Efe Osifo-Whiskey, did not respond to enquiries on the matter.
Adeola Kunle
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