Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has given the true position on the news that a passenger was extorted by Nigeria Immigration officials at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

A statement signed by Faithful A. Hope-Ivbaze, Ag. General Manager, Corporate Affairs, titled, “Re: Allegation of extortion of passenger at MMIA noted that following a tweeted allegation on the 19th of February 2022 by the mother of a 14year old girl travelling on Lufthansa Airline that two officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service extorted the sum of eight thousand naira from her daughter, a team of FAAN Aviation Security officers were commissioned to investigate the allegation.

The statement said that upon investigation, they found the allegation to be true, as the officers involved were identified with the help of footages on our CCTV facility, and the cooperation from the Nigerian Immigration Service.

Consequently, the officers were made to refund the exact amount collected from the passenger.

Their On Duty Cards were also withdrawn permanently, and they have been banned from working in any Nigerian airport, to serve as deterrent to others.

FAAN noted, “We would like to commend the mother of the child, who has confirmed receipt of the money, for deeming it fit to escalate the case, and assisting us tremendously in the course of our investigation.

“Also, we would like to express our appreciation to the Comptroller of Immigration, MMA and her team for her cooperation and support in addressing this issue.

“The Authority will continue to identify and sanction any airport official (including FAAN officials) found to be extorting passengers or perpetuating any act of illegality at our airports,” the statement affirmed.