News
FAAN buys multimillion naira machine to replace Customs checkpoint, touting
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
War against touting, extortion, and unnecessary delay of passengers at Nigerian airports through multiple human checks, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has commenced the procurement of machines to replace human checks of luggage, particularly at customs checkpoints.
FAAN made this known over the weekend, during a tour of the airport, where correspondents were shown the various newly installed machines.
The Director of Aviation Security at FAAN, Igbafe Afegbai, said the customs table where they physically check travellers’ barges will be dismantled in a week’s time.
Both industry stakeholders and travellers have, at different times, complained of the customs checking point/table within the Murtala International Airport Terminal. While stakeholders criticised the customs activities within the terminal, travellers also described it as an avenue for extortion.
Recently, Customs officers and the FAAN security chief, alongside other top officers at the authority, clashed with Customs officers at the airport over duty overlap.
This development forced the aviation workers to threaten a nationwide strike, an action scheduled for March 31, 2025.
The complaints and feedback from passengers may have forced FAAN to deploy the machines that are being installed at screening points at the Lagos International Airport to totally eliminate the manual search.
The machines, which include six pieces of Orion 927DX, a full-body scanner, and an itemiser bought by FAAN, have the capacity to exhibit images in the Classic 4-colour and the new proprietary Spectrum 4-colour options, providing a clear image, allowing improved security by quick and accurate identification of threats, and increasing throughput.
Afegbai stated that the machines are also designed to detect a wide range of explosives and narcotics in real-time during the scanning process by marking a potential threat on the X-ray image.
While speaking with journalists, Afegbai stressed that by the time FAAN finishes installing all the screening machines and the monitors, each security agent will have their own monitors, and the tables for physical human checks will be quashed.
“The tables you see will be a thing of history; you will not see any table here. There will be no physical contact because what we are also doing is that when we fix those monitors and the machines dictate unaccepted objects, the concerned officials will take the passenger and his or her luggage to designated areas for physical checks.
“The designated areas will also have CCTV cameras. This is to ensure the passengers are not being exploited. When the machines dictate something, the aviation securities call the relevant agencies, such as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Customs, and quarantine, amongst others, to follow up.”
He further explained that FAAN will be extending the machines to include six different monitors for the six agencies present at the airport, for their officials to monitor the bags through the screens.
He added, “Customs will have their screen. The quarantine will have their screen, and others will also have theirs. So, everybody will sit down while luggage goes through the machines.”
He further explained, “Before we bought the new machines, our machines were not detecting some drugs, but with the new machines, we will start to train some of the security agencies, like the NDLEA, the DSS, the immigration, and the quarantine
Also corroborating the FAAN security chief, head of department, ICT at the airport, Chima Oge, said the new Orion 927DX machine has features that help with the identification of organic materials accurately and quickly, either in range mode, which highlights the areas based on the range selected by the operator, and/or in interactive mode, which provides the operator the option to display the areas based on the value of the pixel.
He also revealed that the machine could detect undeclared funds, drugs and other illicit materials.
Monthly disbursements to the federal, states and local government areas dropped for the third consecutive time yesterday. The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared N1.58 trillion to the three tiers for March
The committee announced N2. 411 trillion as the total revenue generated in March at its April meeting in Abuja yesterday.
The total distributable revenue comprised N931.325 billion from statutory sources, N593.750 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT), N24.971 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and N28.711 billion from Exchange Difference revenue.
According to the communiqué issued by FAAC, the gross revenue available for March stood at N2.411 trillion. The deductions for cost of collection stood N85.376 billion, while N747.180 billion went to transfers, interventions and refunds accounted consumed.
Despite the lower net revenue available for distribution, the March statutory revenue of N1.718 trillion showed an increase of N65.422 billion over the N1.653 trillion received in February.
However, revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) dropped to N637.618 billion last month from the February figure of N654.456 billion – a decrease of N16.838 billion.
From the total distributable sum of N1.578 trillion, the federal government received N528.696 billion; states collectively got N530.448 billion, while the 774 local government areas received N387.002 billion. Additionally, N132.611 billion – representing 13 per cent of mineral revenue – was allocated to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
The breakdown of the N931.325 billion statutory revenue shows that the federal government took N422.485 billion, the states got N214.290 billion and N165.209 billion shared to the councils. The oil-producing states received N129.341 billion from this component as derivation revenue.
From the VAT pool of N593.750 billion, the federal government got N89.063 billion, states got N296.875 billion and the local government areas got N207.813 billion.
For the EMTL revenue of N24.971 billion, the federal government took N3.746 billion, states received N12.485 billion and local government areas went home with N8.740 billion.
In the case of Exchange Difference revenue of N28.711 billion, the federal government received N13.402 billion, states N6.798 billion and local government areas was allocated N5.241 billion. A further N3.270 billion from this revenue was distributed as 13 per cent derivation to oil-producing states.
A deeper look into the revenue trends shows that while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Companies Income Tax (CIT) increased significantly during the month under review, several other key sources witnessed declines.
These include Oil and Gas royalty, EMTL, VAT, Excise Duty, Import Duty, and Common External Tariff (CET) Levies.
A viral video showing several Nigerian police officers allegedly receiving N5,000 each from a Chinese man and his family has sparked widespread outrage and renewed concerns over corruption and ethics in the Nigeria Police Force.
The footage, which surfaced online, shows uniformed officers lining up as a Chinese man hands them cash gifts.
The incident has drawn sharp condemnation from the public and human rights advocates, who described it as disgraceful and damaging to the image of the police.
When contacted by Vanguard, Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said he was unaware of the viral video or the incident.
Similarly, the Lagos State Police Command distanced itself from the footage. Its spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, clarified that the incident did not occur in Lagos, contrary to claims circulating online.
Public figures have also weighed in. Omoyele Sowore, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), described the video as “shameful” and called for the removal of the IGP.
“This is why I keep saying illegal IGP Kayode Egbetokun must leave the police force. It is the shame of the nation,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Popular social commentator and human rights activist Martins Victor Otse, also known as VeryDarkBlackMan, called the act “disgraceful, disrespectful, and degrading,” urging the police leadership to address the matter transparently.
The incident has intensified calls for accountability, with many Nigerians demanding disciplinary action and systemic reforms to restore public confidence in the police force.
The Federal Government has declared Friday, April 18, and Monday, April 21, 2025, as public holidays to mark Good Friday and Easter Monday.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday.
He emphasised the importance of embodying the virtues of the sacrifice and love displayed by Jesus Christ, who had to die for the redemption of man, while greeting Christians on the joyous occasion.
In a statement by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Magdalene Ajani, the minister called on Nigerians to use the holiday period to pray for the peace, unity, and stability of the nation.
He reassured citizens of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to foster national growth and development.
“Furthermore, he encouraged Nigerians to extend love and goodwill to their neighbours through acts of kindness and generosity.
“The minister wished all Christians a blissful Easter celebration and extended warm holiday greetings to all Nigerians,” the statement added.
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