A senior officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), who could not control his temper went berserk again at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, destroying airlines property, because his flight was delayed.
Knowing the implication of his shameful act he presented himself for arrest
Abelnews gathered that on May 1, 2016, when a Customs Comptroller in Charge of Port Harcourt, Mr. Olarenwaju Tajudeen bought an Arik Air flight ticket to Port Harcourt from Lagos for 5:00 pm at about 4:38 pm.
After buying the ticket for the 5 pm flight, he learnt that there was another 3:00 pm flight to the same destination; he decided to change his plan and go with the 3pm flight.
On approaching the airline staff for a change ,the airline official at the counter asked Mr. Olarenwaju to pay modification fee (about N3000.00), which he gladly did and his ticket was now re-scheduled for 3:00 pm flight, but the flight was not only delayed but was later merged with that of 5:00 pm.
On realising that the 3.00pm and 5 pm have been merged, he demanded for refund and he was informed that the airline does not refund modification fees.
According to an eye-witness account, Mr. Olarenwaju was infuriated by the refusal of the airline official to refund to him the money he had paid for modification fee.
The eyewitness further stated that at that stage Olarenwaju threw caution to the wind rushed to Arik Air counter grabbed a computer monitor ,pull it out of the cable and smashed it on the ground severally to ensure that it was completely destroyed.
The eye witness said while he was doing that, the airline officials were shocked beyond words and in shock they watched him step on the computer monitor at the airport repeatedly ,while other passengers and airport users were either watching him with disbelieve or were videoing the red-eyed Customs officer.
After satisfying himself with the destruction of the computer monitor, he stretched out his two hands asking the airline officials to arrest him.
The man who was dressed in T-shirt, tucked into his trousers, according to the video watched by this journalist and who would be in his 50s, did not look violent but was unable to control his temper, as he defied all entreaties when he pulled the computer monitor and hit it on the ground.
Abelnews learnt from a source in Arik Air, who spoke on the condition of anonymity that when the incident happened, the airline had to inform the Aviation Security (AVSEC) of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which quickly deployed two officials, who immediately arrested Mr. Olarenwaju and took him to Tango City, a detention facility of the agency, from where he was taken to Police Airport Command at Beesam.
At Beseem Police Station, the police officer in charge of the case, Mr. Seye confirmed the incident on phone when he was contacted.
He stated that the case might be taken to court, but Olarenwaju was released on the day of arrest because of his standing as a Customs Comptroller.
According to him, “We are still on the case. We have called the man for a meeting. If he is not ready to show contrition for his action and what goes with it, we will charge the case to court; after all, he has committed an offence. He is not above the law”.
Contacted the Airport Police Command spokesman ASP Alabi, said he was yet to be officially briefed about the incident.
The incident is coming few days after a Customs personnel Mr H. Daboh battered a Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria(FAAN) official Mr. Taiwo Adeyanju, at the same airport for daring to prevent him Daboh from gaining access to the Monument Gate through the exit thereby leading to gridlock on the road.