By Emmanuel Onwubiko
Back then in the Catholic Senior Seminary nearly two decades now, we were told by a certain lecturer that in Africa wonders shall never end. With time and following series of emerging experiences that seemed bizarre and out-of-this world that have occurred in Nigeria over multiple times, it is safe to assume that the saying will be rephrased thus- “In Nigeria wonders shall never end”.
The recent disclosure by Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka, that the ministry has arrested three Arik Air staff for stealing fuel from an aircraft may just pass as one of those unusual happenings in Nigeria and these culprits may as well be let off the hook even as the nation will not take time to reflect extensively on the larger implication of this type of heist which on the long run has the diabolical capacity of causing air disasters if it was not noticed. Arik is the largest private airline in Nigeria and indeed one of the very few with good safety record.
So I ask, have some rival airlines sent these moles on an assignment to derail this lofty safety record of this company?
Chidoka said on his official Facebook page that the trio of Blessing Dugbe, Samuel Asuquo and Isaac Ajakaiye were arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, during a security patrol operation on Sunday at about 3 a.m.
Chidoka said the trio were stealing Jet A1 fuel from Arik plane, with registration number: 5N-MID into six jerry cans for sale at cheaper price to other unsuspecting airline operators. The suspects were handed over to the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB), AVSEC MMIA for further action.
He said in the aviation industry’s fight against corruption and security breaches, other chief security officers and heads of aviation security have been alerted and directed to intensify patrol and surveillance operations at various airports across Nigeria.
He said considering the magnitude of the crime to the security and safety of airplanes, the chief security officer of the Lagos airport has been asked to ensure that the suspects are handed over to the airport police for prosecution.
\The preceding paragraph defeats the essence of crime fighting. Hand them over to these ‘egunje’ seeking Nigeria Police? Well I am told also that even some officers of the then dreaded EFCC have started collecting bribes and allowing suspects to have soft landing. And that the prosecution team of this anti-graft agency also engages in the past time of demanding and obtaining huge brown envelopes from suspects to enable them wriggle out of their legal quagmire.
But for these concupiscence of the men and officers of the anti-corruption agencies which include the ICPC, I would have suggested that the three economic saboteurs arrested for stealing aviation fuel should have been dragged to court by EFCC to face charges of not only theft but also economic sabotage.
Nigeria in the last three years became a laughing stock in the aviation world when our local planes started falling off the skylines due to poor standards and regulations by the regulatory bodies. Can you now see why these three thieving staffers of Arik should be dealt with decisively if found guilty by the competent courts of law?
Many cases handled by the Nigeria Police have ended up in murky waters. What of the murder case of Miss Osokogu and the four University of Port Harcourt students killed by villagers in Aluu, Ikwere, Rivers state? Nigeria Police have substantially become so compromised that a lot of Nigerians believe that the best way to muddle up a criminal case is to allow the police handle it.
Minister of Finance Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told an audience in a recent forum by a Roman Catholic think tank in Nigeria that corruption will continue to thrive in Nigeria so long as the institutions to fight this menace are weak.
Now I ask, why is Nigerian state unwilling to make these anti-graft institutions strong and effective? Who is afraid of an effective anti-corruption regime in Nigeria?
Why are Nigerian state and people not bothered about building strong policing institution? Why is everybody comfortable with a dysfunctional Police Force? Who is afraid of state and local police? I bet you that these three alleged thieves of aviation fuel will be set free once they can bribe their way out and the minister who has made publicity with their case will be busy fighting to return to his juicy post after election in the next few weeks than to monitor the case.
This is not the first time Arik staff are accused of theft. Passengers have often lamented the loss of their items. In an exclusive report by an online paper which also broke the story of the aviation fuel theft, in June 2014 some passengers lamented how they lost items ranging from iPad, jewelleries, clothes to perfumes.
That the staff of private airlines in Nigeria have graduated into stealing aviation fuel is a threat to national security and concerted action must be put in place to check this menace and nip it in the bud. Those caught for such dastardly and sinister crime should be treated as economic saboteurs and not just petty thieves.
The Nigerians must stand up and shout to high heavens for these aviation fuel thieves to be taught a lesson because if they go scot-free and continue in this atrocity then the lives of passengers would be jeopardised. A stitch in time saves nine.
Onwubiko wrote from Abuja