Police Impound Five Air Peace Vehicles Over Lagos Airport Runway Blockade

Police have impounded five Air Peace vehicles over the Lagos airport blockade.
Air Peace claimed impostors may have driven the vehicles into the airside.
Police said the vehicles will remain detained pending identification of drivers.

The number of Air Peace vehicles impounded by the police for investigation following the recent blockade of the Lagos airport runway has increased from three to five.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Olodo Uprising: Sanwo-Olu Advises Youths to Embrace Knowledge, Curiosity
BBN Season 11 Kicks Off with Unveiling of 24 Housemates Competing for ₦160m Grand Prize
Why Africa Must Stop Exporting Raw Materials, Lessons From Benin for Nigeria

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the five vehicles, which are currently in police custody, are marked AJJ 589EX, KTU 440EZ, AAA 831F, KTU 85FH and EPE 656HF. The development followed an incident in which some persons suspected to be staff members of Air Peace allegedly drove the vehicles onto the airside of the Lagos airport, disrupting the movement of aircraft.

It was earlier reported that three Air Peace buses were towed into police custody by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria after they were found parked in a manner capable of obstructing airport operations. Although the police initially confirmed that three vehicles had been impounded, further findings showed that the number had increased to five.

The spokesperson for the Airport Command of the Nigeria Police, Muhammed Adeola, confirmed that five Air Peace vehicles were now in police custody, adding that the airline had been contacted as part of the investigation and asked to produce the drivers who took the vehicles into the sensitive area of the airport.

According to Adeola, Air Peace claimed that impostors might have been responsible for the alleged conduct involving the vehicles and promised to carry out an internal investigation to identify those involved. As of the time of filing this report, the airline had yet to provide the police with the outcome of its investigation.

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 Air Peace’s alleged failure to remit the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority as required by law.

The industrial action grounded Air Peace operations at the Lagos and Abuja airports, disrupting passengers’ travel plans and forcing many travellers to seek alternative means of transportation. The unions had targeted the airline over allegations that it was the largest debtor of funds due to the NCAA.

Before commencing the action, the unions had issued three stages of warnings and threatened to picket airlines that allegedly failed to remit the five per cent TSC to the NCAA. They also accused some domestic airlines of making it difficult for their employees to join trade unions freely, alleging that workers were afraid of discrimination or victimisation if they expressed interest in union membership.

The unions described the industrial action as a measure of restraint, saying the affected airlines had been given several weeks to resolve the issues surrounding the remittances and other labour concerns.

Efforts to obtain a reaction from Air Peace were unsuccessful, as the airline’s spokesman, Efe Osifo-Whiskey, did not respond to questions on the matter.