A yet-to-be-identified man, suspected to be a cable vandal, has died inside the powerhouse of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
The suspected vandal allegedly attempted to steal electrical cables and other equipment inside the FAAN powerhouse but was electrocuted in the process. The middle-aged man managed to enter the power generating building and began disconnecting installations that supply power to the airport before his fatal encounter.
Confirming the incident, FAAN Managing Director Olubunmi Kuku stated that the agency is taking stringent measures to ensure that all security loopholes are addressed to prevent unauthorized access to the airport.
Kuku, speaking at the commissioning of 30 Special Forces assigned to guard Lagos Airport, noted that vandals have previously crossed airport perimeter fences, stolen airfield lighting equipment, and posed potential threats to on-site workers.
“I would say that there are two sides to this,” Kuku remarked. “Our environment is quite unique in the sense that we do have some security issues nationwide. We’ve been quite lucky within the airport environments that we haven’t had any major incidents. However, we do have individual issues. Across the airside, you’ve seen where people either cross our fence or try to steal our airfield lighting equipment, or potentially harm some of our on-site individuals. We recently had an incident where an individual actually went into our powerhouse and got electrocuted.”