Presidency reacts to alleged harassment of Atiku at Abuja airport

Agency ReporterNovember 11, 2018

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The Presidency on Sunday reacted to the alleged harassment of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, by security agents.

Newsflash247 had reported that Atiku, who returned to Nigeria after his stay in Dubai, on Sunday hinted that he was intimated by security operatives.

He was quoted as saying, “I arrived to Abuja this morning to a search by agents of the state, aimed at intimidating me and my staff.”

Reacting, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, in a series of tweet on Sunday, denied the alleged harassment.

Sirika maintained that Atiku’s claim was mischievous as the checks by the security agents was mandatory.

He, however, pointed out that the PDP presidential candidate was accorded full respect as expected.

The tweets read, “The claim by @atiku is a mischievous attempt to grab the headlines. Nigerians need to know that one of the resolutions of the Atiku team at their recently-concluded Dubai retreat was to embark on scaremongering. This is one of such.

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“For the records, all incoming passengers on international flights go through customs, Immigration, health and security screening.
Where the aircraft is using the private, charter wing, as the PDP Candidate did, such arrivals are met by a team of the Immìgration, customs and other security agencies.

“They go to the arriving aircraft as a team. The airport authorities confirm that this is a routine process, applying to all international arrivals, including Ministers, unless the passenger is the President of Nigeria.

“The President, the Vice President and passengers aboard planes on the Presidential air fleet use the Presidential wing of the airport.

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“It is also important to state that even in the Presidential Wing of the airport which the President of Nigeria uses, there is the presence of Immigration and other security officials who must stamp his or her passport on arrival.

“By standard procedure, all aircraft on international arrivals must first of all park at the international wing of the aircraft. They can move to the domestic terminal only upon the completion of the arrival processes.

“While it is true that the Task Force on Currency at the airport did the routine action of checking the former Vice President’s travel bag, he was accorded full respect as a former Vice President of Nigeria.

“These checks are mandatory, conventional, internationally applied and routine. No one is excused from them under our laws. These checks are carried out on all international arrivals and President Buhari does not get involved in them.

“Law-abiding citizens are encouraged to respect the laws of the country and our VIPs should not seek to be treated over and above the citizens they wish to serve.”