Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo has ordered a full investigation into security procedures at Yola Airport following reports that Patience Abbo, wife of former Adamawa North Senator Ishaku Abbo, repeatedly gained access to restricted airside areas.
According to Premium Times, the minister directed the probe after seeking explanations from airport security officials over videos showing Mrs Abbo accompanying her husband beyond the terminal and onto the airport tarmac.
The newspaper reported that security officials told the minister Abbo had informed Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel that she was travelling with her husband and was allowed access beyond the terminal gates.
Airport officials reportedly said they only realised she was not a passenger when she returned alone to the terminal after seeing her husband off at the aircraft steps.
However, Premium Times later obtained another video showing Abbo again accompanying her husband across the tarmac. In the footage, she is seen dressed in a brown abaya and wheeling a suitcase to the foot of an aircraft staircase before returning to the terminal.
The second video raised further questions about compliance with airport access-control procedures and prompted the ministry to investigate the repeated access to restricted areas.
The controversy began after footage posted on Abbo’s social media account showed her walking across the apron near an aircraft at Yola Airport. The video showed her exchanging a phone case with her husband, embracing him before departure and leaving the area after he boarded.
Another person was also seen recording the interaction from within the restricted zone, raising questions about how a videographer gained access to the operational area.
Under Part 17 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), airport aprons and related operational zones are classified as Security Restricted Areas. Access is limited to authorised personnel and screened passengers with valid travel documents.
Premium Times reported that aviation stakeholders questioned why security personnel relied on a verbal claim instead of verifying travel documents before granting access beyond security checkpoints.
The newspaper also noted concerns about what some industry observers describe as a culture of granting special access to prominent individuals and their associates at some domestic airports.
The ministerial investigation is expected to examine the actions of AVSEC personnel on duty during the incidents and the circumstances that allowed a videographer access to the restricted area.
Speaking earlier to Premium Times, Abubakar Manir, officer-in-charge of the Crime, Intelligence and Investigation Unit of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) in Sokoto, warned about the dangers of allowing untrained civilians near operational aircraft.
“There are a lot of risks associated. Some aircraft have propeller engines. Once they start the engine, a civilian might not know the safety procedure. If you are close, it can hit you,” he said.
Mr Manir also stated that airport rules apply to all travellers regardless of status and that non-travelling individuals are not permitted beyond security screening points into the ramp area.
