FAAN rules out shut down of Kaduna airport despite kidnap incident

The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, said on Sunday the Kaduna International Airport would not be shut down despite the abduction of 11 people from the facility by criminals.

Yadudu, who disclosed this when the Senate Committee on Aviation visited the agency, said FAAN was working with various security agencies to ensure the security of lives and equipment at airports across the country.

He said the incident was entirely different from the operations at the airport, noting that the breach was caused by security inadequacies at its staff quarters.

The FAAN chief said: “A lot of our staff do not even live in the quarters. If there is a need for us to close, we will close it, but this is even far away from it.

“There is no need for that drastic action. Just small percentage of our staff stay in the staff quarters; the rest are all living in the town.

READ ALSO: Bandits reportedly invade FAAN quarters, kidnap nine in Kaduna

“You can see that the staff quarters are fenced. We are taking appropriate measures, but like I said, we just have to improve to counter these challenges.

“The fence was broken, there were security measures. We have security personnel attending to the area but somehow, somewhere, things happened and now it is time for us to counter the problem we have been doing always.”

Yadudu said investigations were ongoing to uncover the culprits and device strategies on how to rescue the abducted staff.

On his part, the Managing Director of NAMA, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, urged the National Assembly to assist the agency with more funding to ensure the security of personnel and critical facilities.

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