Guardian

AIRPORT security is a coordinated action to protect and secure both humans and materials assets within the entire perimeter of the airport.

Security begins from the moment you approach the airport, the process you undergo to access the airport to the time you enter the terminal as a passenger or meters, greeter and to the boarding process.

To most travellers, the Lagos airport still needs to undergo tough security measures to protect lives.

One of the issues that has continued to raise concern is the reckless manner oil tanker drivers defaced the road linking both the international wing of the Lagos airport with the domestic terminal.

A lot of people pass through the airport everyday, and this presents potential targets for terrorism and other forms of crime because of the number of people located in a particular location.

Although, security checks at the airports in Nigeria, especially the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos has always been tight, but it is not enough.

The activities of fuel tankers along the MMA, Lagos road have not only constituted serious security and safety threats, but also poor movement of vehicles on the ever-busy road, mostly for travellers.

In April 2013, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) disclosed plans to relocate all fuel tankers parked within the vicinity of the access gate of the MMA, Lagos. But till date, tanker drivers have resisted overtures to be relocated to another location.    Meanwhile, spokesman for the FAAN, Yakubu Dati, reiterated the plans of the agency to remove them.

They constitute menace to users of the airport, as their activity leads to gridlock and exposing commuter and other road users.

Speaking with The Guardian on the issue, he noted that the agency had been in talks with the tanker drivers, whom he said have agreed to comply with the directives given by FAAN to relocate to the new place.

According to him, it has to be a gradual process to move them completely from that location to another.

Dati, who stated that their presence at the location poses a security risk for the airport, explained that, “the present location does not only pose a security risk, it also impedes traffic during peak periods. Some of the tanker drivers are fond of parking very close to the main road, thereby reducing the space left for vehicular movement”.

He noted that the plan to relocate the tankers followed series of meetings with stakeholders, including oil companies.   He said: “To conclude the relocation, a meeting has been scheduled between Customs agents, owners of the trucks, FAAN’s Aviation Security officials and officers from the Nigeria Police”.

Dati also said that the relocation of the tanker drivers would bring relief to airport users, especially members of staff of agencies working at the airport.

Throughout the world, there have been a few dozen airports that have instituted a version of a “trusted traveller programme”.

Experts in the industry argued that security screening could be made more efficient by detecting the people that are threats, and then searching them. They also disputed that searching for trusted, verified individuals should not take the amount of time it does.

Another critical security measure utilised by several regional and international airports is the use of fibre optic perimeter intrusion detection systems. These security systems allow airport security to locate and detect any intrusion on the airport perimeter, ensuring real-time, immediate intrusion notification that allows security personnel to assess the threat and track movement and engage necessary security procedures.