A man identified as Segun Martins was caught on Wednesday afternoon trying to stow away aboard an Overland Airways flight at Ilorin International Airport in Kwara State.
A report monitored by The Guardian revealed that the suspect, who was handed over to the police and airport authorities, gained unauthorised access to the undercarriage of the Overland Airways aircraft that was about to take off at Ilorin Airport.
It was learnt that the suspect attempted to conceal himself in the wheel well of the aircraft before he was caught by some workers on the airside of the airport.
Also, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) confirmed the incident to The Guardian.
The Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, said that the incident occurred in the afternoon of Wednesday at Ilorin airport.
However, efforts to obtain further confirmation of the incident from Overland Airways failed, as calls to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Overland Airways, Capt. Edward Boyo, met no response.
As of the time of filing this report, it was not clear how the suspect gained access to the restricted area of the airport, but this is not the first time such a security breach has occurred at a Nigerian airport.
For instance, in July 2019, a man in his twenties gained access to the airside at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, climbed onto the wing of an Azman aircraft that was taxiing for take-off, and placed a bag in one of the engines.
The pilot of another jet alerted the Azman crew, and the engines were shut down. The man was arrested by officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security.
In the same 2019, December to be precise, another man, also in his twenties, emerged from the bush along the runway and tried to access the wheel-well of an Owerri-bound Air Peace flight at the Lagos airport.
Alerted by a nearby pilot, FAAN security apprehended the suspect, who, when questioned, stated he believed the aircraft was headed out of the country.
Also, in August 2013, a 13-year-old boy, Ricky Daniel Oikhena, survived a flight from Benin City to Lagos, hidden in the wheel-well of a domestic Arik Air plane. He later said he thought the plane was going to America.
In April 2023, a deceased stowaway was found in the wheel-well of a KLM Boeing 777 aircraft that arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport from Lagos. It was believed he died from hypothermia.
