Bandits attacked the Kaduna Airport on Saturday, killing an aviation official and grounded a flight scheduled to fly to Lagos, The Punch and The Nation newspapers reported.
The bandits, said to number up to 200, invaded the Kaduna International Airport on Saturday, where they shot dead a security officer of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
According to reports, the bandits overran the runway and prevented a Lagos-bound AZMAN aircraft from taking off at about 12:30 pm.
The terrorists were said to have insisted on getting the airport shut down. This forced the airport Authorities to temporarily shut down activities while the military battled the suspected terrorists.
The Nation quoted one source as saying that “the bandit’s attack started around 12:00am today (Saturday). They started attacking the airport around midnight. The bandits were alleging that the military personnel took away their cattle.
“The military was able to repel them that midnight and we thought that was all. In fact, our staff resumed work this morning as usual. They worked around runway five till around 12:00 pm.
“Then, shortly after that, some NAMA staff went to check some of their equipment. These people (bandits) appeared and started shooting. The NAMA engineers scampered for safety; they could not even go and enter the vehicle that took them to the site. It was in the process that their security man was shot in the head.
“The security man was rushed to the hospital and he was confirmed dead.
“As I am talking to you now, the military are still battling those guys, and they are proving difficult to be repelled. Now, they have shut down the Airport,” the source said.
The Punch quoted another source as saying, “They started attacking the Airport around midnight. The soldiers were able to repel them that midnight and we thought that was all. In fact, our workers resumed work this morning as usual till around 12:00 pm”.
The airport attack comes two days after reports said that bandits killed over 50 people in an attack in communities i Southern Kaduna. Viral videos show dead bodies littering the community, with some of them burnt along with their houses.
