Police nab three teenage stowaways at Lagos airport

The Airport Command of the Nigeria Police Force has
arrested three teenagers for allegedly attempting to illegally
board some international flights in Lagos.
Commissioner of Police for the command, Salahu Waheed,
said the suspects, Lateef Popoola, 13; Amadi Joshua, 14;
and Ukpabio Onyedikachi, 14, were arrested at different
times at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport,
Ikeja.
Waheed, while handing over the suspects to their mothers,
said there was a need for their respective state governments
to rehabilitate them like the Edo State Government did with
teenage stowaway, Daniel Ihekina, who was arrested on
August 24, 2013 after sneaking into the tyre compartment
of a Lagos-bound Arik plane.
He 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."
The teenagers, who spoke to PUNCH Metro, said they had
been nursing the idea of travelling abroad, adding that they
were not ready to execute their plans yet.
Lateef said he went to the tarmac to observe how aeroplanes
take off and land.
He said he was able to gain access to the runaway by
sneaking into an airport apron bus, but was arrested shortly
after alighting.
He 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 have yet to decided where I will go.
So, I just went to the tarmac to see the aeroplanes."
Lateef's grandmother, Adunni, said she had no idea that her
grandson was nursing the idea of travelling out of the
country. She said she had been responsible for his upkeep
since his mother abandoned him at infancy.
"I did not know that he wanted to travel. I just did not see
him last week and I started looking for him all over the
place. It was on Saturday that I finally found out that he
had been arrested," she said.
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.
Police said Onyedikachi's brother was in Malaysia and it
was possible that the teenager wanted to travel out to see his
brother.
Onyedikachi, however 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."
Onyedikachi's mother berated her son for his escapade. She
said she had warned him and Joshua to be well behaved at
all times.
She said, "I had no knowledge of what they did.
Onyedikachi is well taken care of and is not suffering. I
don't know what pushed him to do this."
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