Demands made to enhance anti-terrorist security at Nigeria airports

ACTS of terrorism create new threats and greater effort is required to improve airport security, declared Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) director general Harold Demuren, reports the Lagos daily, This Day.

Speaking at the Air Cargo Security and Safety Breakfast Meeting organised by Aero Consult Limited at the NCAA annex, Lagos, Dr Demuren pointed out that the meeting would deal with how to prevent terrorists putting explosives in air cargo.

"Air cargo has become one of the most vulnerable aspects of aviation as it provides fewer risks to terrorists who plant it as it causes them little or no harm. Aviation security has provided counter measures and has made it difficult for them to access passenger flights unlike the cargo flights that are being viewed as vulnerable," he said.

Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN) president Kingsley Nwokoma, deplored inadequate security networks at the airports, most especially in the restricted areas and challenged the government to safeguard goods and cargo.

Dr Demuren said that since the volume of cargo being carried has increased on passengers' aircraft, that there was need to impose counter measures to make it more difficult for terrorists to access passengers.

Aviation Round Table (ART) chairman Dele Ore added that cargo screening technologies to spot explosives were needed.

"The key technologies under consideration for screening air cargo for threat objects include x-ray screening, x-ray based explosive detection systems, chemical trace detection systems, and technologies based on neutron beams," Mr Ore said.