A young boy identified as Samuel Ogundeyi, was on Sunday, February 1, 2015 discovered and arrested in the tyre compartment of an aircraft parked in the hangar at the terminal of a private general aviation, Execujet of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
A reliable source within the private terminal, who preferred anonymity disclosed that the commanding pilot of the aircraft discovered the suspected stowaway at about 12 noon when pilots of the aircraft marked M-MYNA, were carrying out a routine inspection on it.
The suspect also had in his possession two handsets without SIM cards, which he claimed were his.
Confessing the crime, Ogundeyi revealed that ‘a brother’ of his had helped him enter the hangar the previous night through the facility of the Headquarters, Air Defence Corps of Nigerian Air Force, located next to the Presidential/VIP Lounge in the airport.
The boy who communicated more fluently in Yoruba and pidgin English languages said he was able to cross the runway 18 left runway over to ExecuJet facility located in the international wing of the airport, when he noticed there was no flight landing or taking off on the runway.
The anonymous source further disclosed that the aircraft where the boy was discovered was operated by Tag Aviation and it was alleged that it had flown former Petroleum Minister, Chief Dan Etete into Lagos airport on Saturday night and parked at the private hangar, where it was expected to take off in the afternoon before the incident happened.
Meanwhile, when contacted, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Mr Yakubu Dati could not be reached for comments on the incident.
