Passenger shouts Allahu Akbar, forces plane to land *SSS interrogates him *Senator Zanna quizzed again

Written by Jacob Segun Olatunji and Shola Adekola
Wednesday, October 24, 2012


Arik Air


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THERE was pandemonium on Tuesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, as a muslim cleric on board Arik Air flight from Maiduguri to Enugu strangely shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) in the air.

The shout of Allahu Akbar caused a scare among the passengers and crew members who ran towards him and held him down while in the air. He was mistaken to be a Boko Haram sect member.

The scare on board the plane made the pilot of the Boeing 737-700 to immediately contact the control tower in Abuja and called for an emergency landing permit, which was immediately granted him.

Information gathered by Nigerian Tribune from a source at Abuja airport indicated that the flight took off from Maiduguri airport and was heading to Enugu airport before the passenger's action caused the emergency landing of the plane.

Another version of the story indicated that a Boko Haram member with explosives attempted to bomb Arik Air plane that just landed in Abuja from Maiduguri.

It was gathered that the suspect tried frantically to detonate the bomb which refused to explode before he was arrested at Abuja airport.

But, in a statement signed by the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, the minister denied the incident, describing it as a rumour without any iota of truth.

Oduah described the incident as total false, assuring that the government would continue to safeguard all airport environments in the country.

Oduah, in the statement signed by her Special Assistant, Media, Mr Joe Obi, stated that a passenger, Aminu Galadima, an indigene of Minna, Niger State, boarded a Maiduguri-Abuja-bound Arik Air aircraft with registration number 5N MJE after going through all mandatory security screening, stressing that nothing incriminating was found on him.

The statement reads in part: "However, mid-air, the passenger began to act strangely, loudly screaming ''God is great." Fellow passengers, alarmed by this behaviour, rushed to apprehend him. A thorough search by fellow passengers and crew members revealed nothing dangerous on him. The pilot immediately radioed Air Traffic Control and airport security operatives.

"The plane landed safely at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at exactly 1253 hrs and the suspect handed over to the State Security Service (SSS) at about 1445 hrs where he is currently being interrogated.

"We wish to reassure the flying public of the continued focus of the Federal Ministry of Aviation on the safety and security of the nation's airspace, while cautioning fellow Nigerians on the spreading of dangerous rumours. These rumours do not help to make our airspace either safer or more secure."

Moreso, the image maker, Arik Air, Mr Olabanji Ola, in a telephone conversation with Nigerian Tribune, denied the incident, saying that some passengers felt one of the passengers was a Boko Haram member.

According to him, the suspect was frisked by the police attached to the airport, but nothing incriminating was found on him.

He also could not confirm if the suspect was about to preach on board before the incident, but confirmed that the plane was heading to Enugu before it was diverted to Abuja airport because of the incident.

Investigation revealed that the suspect was invited to Maiduguri last week by the wife of a top state government official for interior decoration job but started showing signs of psychiatric patient and his host had since been managing him till Tuesday when it was decided that he should return to his base in Abuja without informing the airline about his state of health.

A top security source told Nigerian Tribune in confidence on Tuesday night that a thorough investigation into the matter was in progress to establish the facts of the case and the mental health of the suspect.

According to him,''for now, investigation is in progress, we have been able to establish some facts which have no connections with the Boko Haram operatives but we will not jump into any conclusion now."

When contacted on Tuesday night, the spokesperson for the State Security Service (SSS), Marilyn Ogar, confirmed the arrest and said that no bomb or any weapon was recovered from the suspect but that full investigation has commenced into his conduct while on board the aircraft.

Senator Zanna quizzed again

Meanwhile, Senator Ahmed Zanna, interrogated for several hours on Monday for Boko Haram related activities by the SSS on Tuesday, went through another round of interrogation at the SSS headquarters in Abuja.

Details of his interrogations were still being kept top secret within the security circles at press time.

Na wa o! At least, Boko Haram has made everybody to be security conscious.