3 Teenage Stowaways Arrested At The Murtala Mohammed International Airport

Weeks after 13-year-old Daniel Oikhena was handsomely rewarded for beating airport security officials in Benin Airport to hide in a tyre compartment of a Lagos-bound Arik plane, the Airport Command of the Nigeria Police Force has arrested three teenagers for alleged illegal attempt to board some international flights in Lagos.

Commissioner of Police for the Command, Salahu Waheed, confirmed that the trio of Lateef Popoola, 13; Amadi Joshua, 14; and Ukpabio Onyedikachi, 14, were arrested at different times at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja.

The teenagers, told newsmen they had been nursing the idea of travelling abroad, adding that they were not ready to execute their plans yet.

Lateef said, 

“I am not in school, I dropped out in Primary three. I was arrested last week Wednesday. I actually wanted to travel but I’m yet to decide where I will go. So, I just went to the tarmac to see the aeroplanes .”

Onyedikachi and Joshua were said to have been arrested after asking some security agents where Malaysia flights were boarding.

After being questioned, the boys, who were both in SS1, said they had no travel documents and were immediately arrested.

Onyedikachi said, “We were at the departure area of the airport. We did not attempt to travel out. We were just loitering and wanted to see the aeroplanes. We did not want to travel out on that day.”

The Police Commissioner, while handing over the kids to their mothers said, 

“These boys were found at different times at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Their aim was to get into any plane and travel out of Nigeria.

“I decided to hand them over to their parents so they will be well taken care of and stop dwelling on the fantasy that you can just come into the airport, enter a plane and travel.

“Their state governments should try to rehabilitate them just like Edo State did for the stowaway in Benin.

“Lateef Popoola is from Ogun State; Amadi Joshua is from Ebonyi ,while Ukpabio Onyedikachi is from Abia State.

“The airport is not a place that you can just come into and travel. There are formalities. We don’t want to see these children here again.”