American detained with firearms at Lagos Airport

Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) yesterday arrested an American citizen with firearms at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

The male passenger, who arrived in the country aboard a United Airlines flight from Houston, United States at 10:10am, was said to have checked in the firearms.

He was also said to be in possession of two international passports: Nigerian and American.

A source told our correspondent that the American did not declare the firearms as stipulated in international laws on firearms carriage.

Another source said the passenger had some documents from the U.S, which allowed him to carry firearms, but the authenticity of the papers could not be ascertained.

The source said: “Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service intercepted the passenger with the firearms during screening. So far, he is undergoing scrutiny from the officials of the service and will be handed over to the relevant authorities after interrogation.

“We learnt that the passenger with dual citizenship has the approval of the US Government to carry firearms, but such should have been declared at the port of entry, which he didn’t do. However, we are yet to verify the documents he’s carrying.”

Spokesman of the command Muhammad Shehu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the students were abducted on Tuesday night.

“The suspected bandits invaded the off-campus student hostel, a rented house in Tsafe town. Receiving the report, security operatives chased the kidnappers. One of the five abducted students escaped from the bandits but the kidnappers fled with the other four,” Shehu said.

The provost of the college, Yusuf Idris, also confirmed the incident, saying the escaped student sustained injuries and was receiving medical attention at the Tsafe General Hospital.

He said the abductors have contacted the mother of one of the victims, threatening to marry her if the ransom was not paid.

Idris appealed to the parents of the kidnapped students to remain calm as the school and security agencies were working hard to ensure the safe return of the students.

Several schools in the area have been attacked in recent months with many students abducted but later released.