In a statement, Oduah stated that a passenger, Aminu Galadima, an indigene of Minna, Niger state boarded a Maiduguri – Abuja bound Arik Air aircraft with registration number 5N MJE after going through all mandatory security screenings, stressing that nothing incriminating was found on him. It claimed that the man was however subdued when he began to act strangely, screaming, ”God is Great.” The pilot immediately radioed Air Traffic Control and airport security operatives.
The Aviation Minister assured that the government would continue to safeguard all airports in the country.
Also in a statement, the Management of Arik Air said, ‘there is no iota of truth in the rumour making rounds that a passenger attempted to bomb an Arik Air aircraft operating a flight from Maiduguri to Abuja today, Tuesday, October 23, 2012-10-23
‘To set the records straight, a passenger on board flight W3 812 from Maiduguri to Abuja caused a scare when he started shouting Allah Akbar shortly before the aircraft landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and nothing incriminating was found on anyone, the statement added.
However, a passenger who was in the aircraft said, ‘The suspected bomber came in as last passenger in the first class. The man spoke Queens English and Hausa fluently. He claimed they were three bombers that were supposed to enter the plane but due to security, two couldn’t make it. He wired himself and used bandage to cover up. He in fact identified and named three JTF members on board’
The passenger, who spoke anonymously because of the fact that he is a civil servant suspect that the government and the airline is trying to managing the situation in order not to cause too much scare amongst air travellers in the country
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