The report that the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, was temporarily shut in the early hours of Thursday after the mangled body of a dead man was found on Runway 18R of the nation’s flagship airport is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Punch reports that the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, was temporarily shut in the early hours of Thursday after the mangled body of a dead man was found on Runway 18R of the nation’s flagship airport.
The identity of the corpse could not be ascertained as of press time. Also, it could not be established whether the dead man was knocked down by an aircraft taking off or landing on the runway.
However, airport officials told our correspondent that the runway was temporarily shut down while a team of officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Police Force evacuated the corpse from the runway.
During the temporary shutdown of the runway, international flights were prevented from landing and taking off from the airport’s international terminal.
Among the flights that could not land due to the shutdown was an Ethiopian Airlines flight 3907, a Boeing 77F aircraft with registration number ETAVN, which was coming from Lome, Togo to Lagos, Nigeria.
The flight was later diverted back to Lome after holding for a while.
Airport officials said the corpse was suddenly found on Runway 18R during a routine runway inspection by FAAN personnel.
The officials were said to have reported a corpse on the runway around the cargo area.
The newspaper says that the Defence Headquarters, on Thursday, said no fewer than 1,627 terrorists surrendered to troops in the last three weeks, adding that a total of 53,262 have surrendered so far.
It also said troops rescued 63 civilians held captive by the terrorists and killed 98 terrorists, bandits and other economic saboteurs during operations across the country.
The director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Bernard Onyeuko, disclosed this during a biweekly update on the Armed Forces of Nigeria between April 28 – May 19, 2022.
He also said 17 illegal refining sites were discovered and deactivated.
He said, “Between 1 – 14 May 2022 a total of 1,627 Boko Haram terrorists and their families surrendered to our troops at different locations. They comprised 331 men, 441 women and 855 children.
“As at 16 May 2022, a total of 53,262 have so far surrendered.
“Also, troops of Operation Hadin Kai, on 13 May 2022, acting on intelligent report, arrested Mallam Modu Goni, a terrorist and logistics supplier at Bunin Yadi Market.
Also on 17 May 2022, troops arrested Mallam Modu Pantami at the outskirt of Benishied village in the Kaga local government area while attempting to transport large quantity of logistics items he purchased for onward supply to terrorists at Gomari village in the Fere local government area of Borno State.
The Guardian reports that the Global System for Mobile telecommunications Association (GSMA) has warned that market imbalances between network operators and online services providers could stall growth in several sectors of the internet-based economy, and called on politicians to urgently address the issue.
In the GSMA 2022 Internet Value Chain report, the trade association noted factors including asymmetric regulation and restrictions, sector-specific taxes and spectrum costs are “squeezing the business models of infrastructure providers whilst allowing big tech to thrive”.
The body noted that those in charge of setting laws and regulations must consider the interdependence of online services and other growth sectors on the underlying infrastructure investment.
GSMA chairman, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, said the association welcomes the “growing recognition of this issue by policymakers, and as the Internet-based economy expands across all sectors over the next decade.”
The report encourages decision makers to consider the “full landscape of taxation and regulation”, ensuring companies investing in infrastructure are incentivised to build and upgrade the networks, which underpin online services.
The study found revenue across the Internet value chain doubled in five years, from $3.3 trillion in 2015 to $6.7 trillion in 2020. The GSMA noted much of this growth comes from online services, revenue from which increased 19 per cent per year in 2020.
The newspaper says that the Nigeria Navy has arrested 20 suspects with over 6million litres of stolen products recovered. The successes were made possible by the Chief of naval staff’s biting team code-named ‘Operation DAKATAR DA BARAWO’ (OPDDB).
The squad has made breakthroughs in which over N10 billion worth of stolen crude oil and petroleum products were denied to oil thieves by the Nigerian Navy.
According to naval spokesman, Commodore Ayo-Vaughan, weeks 5 and 6 of OPDDB witnessed seizures and arrests of over 6 million litres of products and stolen crude oil including arrest of more than 20 suspects many of whom have been handed over for prosecution.
“The period under review also brought to fore the resort to armed resistance by the economic saboteurs and criminals particularly at Okarki, a border community between Rivers and Bayelsa States. This development will not deter the Nigerian Navy from enforcing zero tolerance for economic sabotage and criminality in Nigeria’s Maritime Environment particularly at the backwaters.
“On May 1, 2022 therefore, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER at Port-Harcourt conducted swamp buggy operations in Cawthorne Channel to clear identified refining sites. The Base intercepted one wooden boat laden with unspecified quantity of illegally refined AGO at Isaka.
“On May 2, 2022, the Base arrested 12 suspects, 3 wooden boats and one speed boat laden with illegally refined AGO. Equally on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, NNS PATHFINDER raided Tongolonsoju and Sokko communities. Credible report had indicated that the two communities serve as critical enablers to the notorious market square illegal refining camps,” he said.
The Nation reports that the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Isa Jere, yesterday lamented the porous nature of the country’s borders, saying there were over 1490 illegal routes into the country.
He urged the authorities to take proactive steps to address the challenge as part of ways to address influx of movements into the country and checkmate the attendant security problems.
He said there was urgent need to upscale the budget of the NIS to enable it carry out surveillance, intelligence and monitoring activities using the latest technology and man power.
The NIS boss made the remarks at the Newton Park Hotel, Abuja, during the opening ceremony of a two day National Conference organised by the Nigerian Immigration Lawyers Association (NILA) in conjunction with the NIS.
The CG was represented by the Assistant Comptroller-General in Charge of Border Control, Mohammed Aminu Mohammed.
GIK/APA