Police impound five Air Peace vehicles over runway blockade

The number of Air Peace vehicles impounded by the police for investigation following the recent Lagos airport runway blockade has increased from three to five.

The PUNCH reliably gathered that the vehicles, which are currently in police custody, are marked AJJ 589EX, KTU 440EZ, AAA 831F, KTU 85FH and EPE 656HF.

The development followed an incident in which some persons suspected to be staff members of Air Peace allegedly positioned the vehicles on the airside of the Lagos airport, disrupting the smooth movement of aircraft.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that three Air Peace buses were towed into police custody by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria after they were found parked in a manner capable of obstructing airport operations.

Although the police initially confirmed that three vehicles had been impounded, further findings by The PUNCH showed that the number had risen to five.

Speaking with The PUNCH, the spokesperson for the Airport Command of the Nigeria Police, Muhammed Adeola, confirmed that five Air Peace vehicles were now in police custody.

Adeola said that, as part of the investigation, the police had contacted Air Peace and asked the airline to produce the drivers who took the vehicles to the sensitive area of the airport.

He said the airline, however, claimed that some impostors might have been responsible for the alleged unruly conduct involving the vehicles and promised to conduct an internal investigation to identify those responsible.

As of the time of filing this report, Adeola said Air Peace had yet to provide the police with the outcome of its investigation. He added that the vehicles would remain in police custody until the airline produced the drivers who operated them.

He said, “Yes, you are correct, there are five in our compound. When we started our investigation, we met with Air Peace and expected them to provide us with the drivers. But they told us that they believed some saboteurs must have driven their vehicles and all of that.

“They then promised to conduct an internal investigation and provide us with whoever they found to have driven the buses. Until then, the vehicles will be in our possession, since we must know those who attempted to disrupt the smooth running of airport operations.”

The incident occurred amid an industrial action by aviation unions over Air Peace’s alleged refusal to remit the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, as required by law.

The action, which grounded Air Peace’s operations at the Lagos and Abuja airports, disrupted travel plans and left passengers scrambling for alternative means of transportation. The unions had targeted Air Peace over claims that the airline was the largest debtor of funds due to the NCAA.

Prior to the action, the unions had issued three stages of warnings, threatening to picket airlines that allegedly failed to remit the five per cent TSC to the NCAA. The unions also alleged that some domestic airlines had made it difficult for employees to freely join trade unions, claiming that workers were afraid to express interest in union membership for fear of discrimination or victimisation.

The unions, however, described the industrial action as a measure of restraint, saying they had given the affected airlines several weeks to resolve the issues.

Efforts to get a reaction from the airline were unsuccessful, as the airline’s spokesman, Efe Osifo-Whiskey, did not respond to questions on the matter.