Police Nab Three Teenage Stowaways From Age 13-14 At Lagos International 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.”