The
Lagos State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Damascus
Ozouani, on Thursday explained that a private jet with registration
number N972TF at Dapsey Filling Station, Igando, did not crash land.
Ozouani told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
in Lagos that the disused jet was being towed from the Murtala Muhammed
Airport, Ikeja, to Badagry when one of its tyres burst.
NAN correspondent at the filling station
observed that the jet which can accommodate about eight passengers,
has the inscription "Gabriel Oduyemi World Crusades" on its tail board.
The filling station had become a Mecca of sort to passers-by the time NAN visited the area.
Ozouani said at about 12:45 a.m., the command got a directive to escort the jet from MMA Ikeja to Badagry (by road).
“The operation was led by one Capt. Matthew
Ekehinde, but in the process of the journey, one of the jet's tyres
burst at College Bus Stop and the jet could not move.
“It was parked at Dapsey Filling Station along
Igando for repairs .We have provided security for the plane until it is
moved to Badagry,'' he said.
Ozouani said that the movement of the jet to
Badagry from Ikeja was in response to the Federal Government's
directives that plane owners should remove non-operational aircraft from
the nation's airsides and tarmacs because they constitute security and
safety risks.
NAN observed that the right flank tyre of the
jet had already burst while the two front ones and the left flank tyres
have begun to deflate.
Also, some parts of the right and left wings of
the jet had been cut with saws to reduce its with in conformity with
what could be towed on a motorway.
Also speaking, Mr Supo Atobatele, General
Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA),
confirmed that that there was no record of any plane mishap.
``It must have been one of those junks being
removed from the MMA airside, following a directive from the Federal
Ministry of Aviation.
``There is no record of any missing plane in
the airspace from our Total Radar Control of Nigeria (TRACON)
facilities,'' Atobatele said on phone.
Also, Mr Tunji Oketunmbi, the spokesman of the
Accident investigation Bureau (AIB), debunked claims of any air crash
when contacted on phone.
Meanwhile, the petrol station manager, who
refused to disclose his name, said: “We came in here this morning to
resume work only to meet the private jet here.”
He lamented that the incident had caused the
station a drop in patronage as motorists could not drive into the
station to buy fuel.
Also, Mr Olugbenga Adeoye , a Chief
Superintendent of Police (CSP), who led policemen to the scene, said
that he was not authorised to speak to the press.
``Yes, I am on ground here to lead other
policemen to control crowd and traffic movements and not to speak to the
press,” Adeoye said. (NAN)
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