*Experts Call for Proactive Measures in Nigeria
There are new concerns over the possibility of explosives being hidden in laptop batteries and other electronic devices byunscrupuloustravellers, who would use them to blow up airliners while airborne.
This, operatives said was what informed the recent ban of large electronics on flights from selected airports in the Middle East and Africa by the US.
CNN reported that recently obtained intelligence shows an al Qaeda affiliate has been trying to perfect techniques for concealing explosives in the batteries of electronic devices.
Aviation security experts said that Nigerian security system may not be prepared for it because it would need advanced technology to detect such incendiary devices hidden in electronic gadgets.
The CEO of Scope Centre, Adebayo Babatunde told THISDAY on Wednesday that it has become obvious that cyber security is the new focus in terrorism and the advancement and international dimensions are worrisome.
“The extent of breach a tablet or pad or any of such devices can cause is overwhelming and I’m not sure anyone can affirm what maximum damage they can cause. In response to this threats the United States of America came up with this prohibition order on tablets, pads and other electronic devices carried on passengers flying to the US from certain airports, this was swiftly followed by the UK government having received the intelligence from the US.
“For us in Nigeria, the growing activism and militancy coupled with the tactical shift of the Boko Haram insurgents call for maximum alerts and surveillance. No proactive measure is too much for threat prevention. It is incumbent on our security managers to measure the threat levels in the different regions and come up with the appropriate measures but as it relates to international aviation, I will advise that Nigeria should follow the examples of the US and UK. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when we have a module to copy. Travellers will be expected to check in their tablets and other computer electronics while travelling from all our international airports,” Babatunde said.
He added that other measures currently in place should be maintained and upgraded if there is advancement in counter technology.
Reacting to the report also, the CEO of Centurion Securities Limited and the Secretary General of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu said except the Boko Haram sects decided to be copycats, generally, the greatest threats to civil aviation is towards the West from the (Middle) East, especially America.
Ojikutu said the US and its closest ally the UK would be the main target.
“The threats are from Al Qaeda and ISIS mainly and mainly too from the Middle East. The arrangement we have to face such threats is to focus more on direct flights to the US and Western Europe particularly to Britain and sometimes too to places like Amsterdam as Abdulmutalab the underwear bomber once taught us. Intelligence, pre- passengers profiling are the antidotes. Airlines must ensure that they put into operation a computer assisted pre-passenger pre-screening system to identity frequently travelling passengers from irregularly passengers and identify those that could be risks or threats to their flights,” Ojikutu said.
According to CNN, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the US announced Tuesday that passengers would be prohibited from carrying electronic devices larger than a cell phone — such as laptops, tablets, cameras and portable DVD players — onto the cabins of certain U.S.-bound flights. Those items could be stowed in checked luggage, instead.
“The indefinite ban applies to 10 different airports in Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom instituted a similar rule Tuesday that targets a slightly different set of airports,” CNN reported.
THIDAY
