STOWAWAY SAGA: Teenage boy wanted to fulfill ambition to go to America – Mum
The quarrel with sister moments before
risky action
*Why he survived inside aircraft’s wheel —
Expert
Madam Evelyn Ohikhena, like many other
Nigerians, was shocked when she was
informed by her sister in-law in Germany,
that her son, Daniel, stowed from Benin-City
to Lagos via an Arik flight penultimate
Saturday. Before the call from the sister who
read the story online on Sunday morning,
Madam Oikhena had gone to the police
station to report a case of missing person.
The mother, a saloonist with four children,
was invited, on Tuesday, by officials of the
Department of State Security (DSS). She
narrated her ordeal to Sunday Vanguard
thereafter. “My son’s name is Ricky Daniel. He
answers one name in school and another
one at home. He is in JSS 1. Before now, he
was in a private school Young Scholars, but,
because I could not afford his school fees
when my saloon got burnt, I now took him
to Ogbe Secondary School to continue his
third term”, she said. She continued, “My
sister- in-law in Germany, who was unaware
that we were looking for him, called to alert
me of the development.
She got the news via internet. I think she
said she read it in Vanguard. She was the
one who told me Ricky was in Lagos, that he
broke airport security and entered the
wheel of the plane heading to Lagos. Soon
after she called, my attention was drawn to
newspapers by sympathizers and family
friends. I rushed to Ring Road where I
bought a newspaper and thereafter I went
to the police station to report the matter. He
was not used to leaving home”. According
to her, the police initially did not believe her
story as they said “I did not know who I
was looking for.”
*The apprehended teenager who
stowed from Benin.
*The apprehended teenager who stowed
from Benin.
Narrating how the boy left home without
being stopped, Mrs Ohikhena said, “I left
home around 9pm on Friday for the house
of my elder sister who gave birth to pass the
night. When I came back the following
morning, my daughter told me that she and
her brother-the stowed boy- had an
argument , that she found him watching
film when she woke up to ease herself and
that he broke the television set.
The sister explained that my mum-their
grandmother- settled the quarrel but when
she woke up in the morning, she could not
find him”. Debunking the claim by the
teenage boy that he left the house because
he was being maltreated, Madam Ohikhena
said, “ I did not maltreat him, but I don’t play
with him . And I don’t joke with my
children’s education. I give them the best of
education.
Everybody knows me, go and ask about me
in Oba Market. When we commenced the
search for him, his nine year-old younger
brother told me that each time they were
watching film, he always said he will go
abroad, that he will go to the airport to
enter plane. He told me to go and check the
airport. I did not believe him. He does not
have friends, he hardly leaves home. My son
thought he was going to America. My only
joy now is that he is alive”.
The stowaway saga began penultimate
Saturday when the pilot of the Arik plane,
about to take from Benin-City enroute Lagos,
claimed to have seen Daniel and informed
the control tower which promised that
security agents will apprehend the boy. The
stowaway teenager, however, successfully
entered the nose wheel of the aircraft. He
was found when the plane arrived Lagos by
officials of the Federal Airports Authority of
Nigeria (FAAN). His survival in the aircraft
wheel well was surprising too because most
stowaways face numerous health risks.
From statistics, from 1947 to September
2012, there were 96 stowaway attempts
worldwide in wheel wells of 85 separate
flights, which resulted in 73 deaths. An
aviation expert, David Learmont, suggested
that no one would be willing to risk such
journey, adding that stowaways who
survive usually traveled relatively short
distances or at low altitude. He also
attributed why stowaways are prevalent in
Africa to the poor perimeter security in
several airports.
risky action
*Why he survived inside aircraft’s wheel —
Expert
Madam Evelyn Ohikhena, like many other
Nigerians, was shocked when she was
informed by her sister in-law in Germany,
that her son, Daniel, stowed from Benin-City
to Lagos via an Arik flight penultimate
Saturday. Before the call from the sister who
read the story online on Sunday morning,
Madam Oikhena had gone to the police
station to report a case of missing person.
The mother, a saloonist with four children,
was invited, on Tuesday, by officials of the
Department of State Security (DSS). She
narrated her ordeal to Sunday Vanguard
thereafter. “My son’s name is Ricky Daniel. He
answers one name in school and another
one at home. He is in JSS 1. Before now, he
was in a private school Young Scholars, but,
because I could not afford his school fees
when my saloon got burnt, I now took him
to Ogbe Secondary School to continue his
third term”, she said. She continued, “My
sister- in-law in Germany, who was unaware
that we were looking for him, called to alert
me of the development.
She got the news via internet. I think she
said she read it in Vanguard. She was the
one who told me Ricky was in Lagos, that he
broke airport security and entered the
wheel of the plane heading to Lagos. Soon
after she called, my attention was drawn to
newspapers by sympathizers and family
friends. I rushed to Ring Road where I
bought a newspaper and thereafter I went
to the police station to report the matter. He
was not used to leaving home”. According
to her, the police initially did not believe her
story as they said “I did not know who I
was looking for.”
*The apprehended teenager who
stowed from Benin.
*The apprehended teenager who stowed
from Benin.
Narrating how the boy left home without
being stopped, Mrs Ohikhena said, “I left
home around 9pm on Friday for the house
of my elder sister who gave birth to pass the
night. When I came back the following
morning, my daughter told me that she and
her brother-the stowed boy- had an
argument , that she found him watching
film when she woke up to ease herself and
that he broke the television set.
The sister explained that my mum-their
grandmother- settled the quarrel but when
she woke up in the morning, she could not
find him”. Debunking the claim by the
teenage boy that he left the house because
he was being maltreated, Madam Ohikhena
said, “ I did not maltreat him, but I don’t play
with him . And I don’t joke with my
children’s education. I give them the best of
education.
Everybody knows me, go and ask about me
in Oba Market. When we commenced the
search for him, his nine year-old younger
brother told me that each time they were
watching film, he always said he will go
abroad, that he will go to the airport to
enter plane. He told me to go and check the
airport. I did not believe him. He does not
have friends, he hardly leaves home. My son
thought he was going to America. My only
joy now is that he is alive”.
The stowaway saga began penultimate
Saturday when the pilot of the Arik plane,
about to take from Benin-City enroute Lagos,
claimed to have seen Daniel and informed
the control tower which promised that
security agents will apprehend the boy. The
stowaway teenager, however, successfully
entered the nose wheel of the aircraft. He
was found when the plane arrived Lagos by
officials of the Federal Airports Authority of
Nigeria (FAAN). His survival in the aircraft
wheel well was surprising too because most
stowaways face numerous health risks.
From statistics, from 1947 to September
2012, there were 96 stowaway attempts
worldwide in wheel wells of 85 separate
flights, which resulted in 73 deaths. An
aviation expert, David Learmont, suggested
that no one would be willing to risk such
journey, adding that stowaways who
survive usually traveled relatively short
distances or at low altitude. He also
attributed why stowaways are prevalent in
Africa to the poor perimeter security in
several airports.
0 comments: