• The theft occurred just months after the system was installed.
• The ground lights were stolen from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
• The thefts include the theft of the runway lighting system.

The lighting system for one of the runways at Nigeria’s busiest airport has been stolen. The theft occurred just months after the system was installed.

An investigation has been launched to arrest the criminals and recover the missing equipment. It is not clear when the theft occurred, but local media reported that airport workers were involved.

The ground lights were installed in November to allow planes to land on the runway after dusk. However, the lights were stolen, which forced domestic carriers to divert to the international section and taxi about 4km back to the right terminal. This caused flight disruptions.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria will “block all loopholes to prevent [a] future occurrence”. The criminals took advantage of the fact that the runway had been closed for months for maintenance to take the lighting system.

The source said that a group of airport workers, along with some accomplices from outside the airport, are responsible for a series of thefts. The source called this group a “syndicate”.

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