…Pathfinder suspends concerned staff, begins investigation
The Management of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said it has identified an airport worker who was arrested and malhandled while trying to dispatch an unknown medication through a passenger at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos as an employee of Pathfinders Limited and not FAAN personnel.
Further identity of the suspect is however , withheld by the Airport Authority.
While debunking the claims in a video trending on social media which referred to the arrested and battered airport worker as an employee of FAAN, the airport authority, in a statement, by its spokesperson, Mrs. Obiageli Orah explained that the individual in the video was not a FAAN employee but an employee of the Pathfinder.
“The Authority wishes to set the records straight by stating that the officer being manhandled in the video is not a staff of FAAN .
“He has been identified as a member of the staff of Pathfinder company,” the statement claimed.
Orah explained the passenger involved has departed the country on board an Ibom Air flight to Ghana while the suspected substance labelled: NEW AGE GLUCOSAMINE CHONDROITIN SULFATE COMPLEX has been deposited with National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for analysis to determine if its a psychopathic drug or not.
Explaining the incident that took place at Lagos Airport on Tuesday January 16, 2024, Orah said: “The employee was said to have approached a passenger to help him convey a parcel through the flight.
“When the passenger became sceptical, he raised an alarm, alleging that he was being set up for drug trafficking.
The employee was immediately arrested for questioning by the Crime Investigation and Intelligence Unit of the Aviation Security Services.
“The passenger involved has since departed on Ibom Air to Accra while the medication with the name “NEW AGE GLUCOSAMINE CHONDROITIN SULFATE COMPLEX” has been taken to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) for further investigation.”
Reacting to the allegation, managenent of Pathfinders Limited, in a statement by its Chief Operating Officer (COO), Fred Omosebi confirmed that the arrested àirport worker is one of its staff and has been withdrawn from the service of the company to allow for thorough investigation.
The COO further explained that though the employee acted contrary to the Standard Operating Procedure of Pathfinders Limited, by attempting to use his position to courier a psrcel through the airport improperly. He asserted thst medication has been proven by NDLEA to be a non-prohibitive substance in the country while person who was to receive the parcel in Ghana would be arriving Nigeria to claim it.
“Upon investigation, we discovered that the person in question is one of our staff who stated he was assisting a family relation in sending his personal medication to Accra. “The medication is Glucosamine Chondroitin which has been confirmed by the NDLEA not to be a prohibited drug in Nigeria.
“The mode of transportation is, however, totally against Pathfinders policy and Standard Operating Procedure and we condemn it in the strongest terms.
“Even as investigation continues, the staff involved has been withdrawn from all Pathfinders operations pending the outcome of the investigation.
“We wish to reiterate that the action of the staff is not in tandem with the operational policies and procedures of Pathfinders International as enshrined in our security programme and practice,” Omosebi said.
