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Presidency Says No Plans By Bandits To Attack Nigerian Airports

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The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has given an explanation on the viral press release warning of planned attacks by hoodlums on airports in Nigeria.

According to a statement on Thursday signed by the Head of Strategic Communication, Office of the National Security Adviser, Z.M Usman, the said press release was just a routine threat assessment that unfortunately found its way to the public domain.

It added that the press release shouldn’t have been made available to the general public but was expected to ensure the preparedness of relevant agencies against any attack against the nation’s airports.

It noted that the memo was leaked without authorization.

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Naija News recalls the federal government of Nigeria had alerted on reported plans by some criminal elements to launch attacks on some airports in the country.

A memo from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) indicated that it received a warning from the ministry of aviation over plans to attack some airports in the country.

The listed airports are Kaduna, Maiduguri, Sokoto, Kano, Abuja, and Lagos airports.

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It is further understood that security has been beefed up around the airports to forestall the planned attacks but the air of uncertainty created by the report still exists.

But the ONSA on Thursday said the release of the said memo to the public has caused unnecessary apprehension hence the need to give reassurance to Nigerians.

The full statement reads: “The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser has been drawn to reports of a threat on the nation’s airports from an internal government correspondence. The correspondence was a routine threat assessment to ensure preparedness of agencies and not meant for public dissemination.

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In the period covered by the correspondence, threat analysis identified the need to advise Airports Management nationwide to upgrade existing security measures around the nation’s airports. Regrettably, the unauthorized release of this advisory is likely to raise fear among airport users at home and abroad.

Accordingly, this statement is issued to reassure the public and all aviation stakeholders of the safety of our airports. The security and intelligence services will continue to monitor security threats and provide the assessment and timely advise required by Airports Managements to continuously upgrade security measures in the airports.”

Meanwhile, the identity of the bandit’s leader holding twenty-nine students abducted from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, has been revealed.

According to an intelligence source, Buderi Isiya, who is in his late 20s has a large number of followers and herds of cattle across Kaduna State.

Isiya has not been captured despite coordinating several kidnapping operations due to the sophisticated and deadly weapons his gang possesses, making him hard to capture.