In a puzzling development, a commercial vehicle yesterday rammed into an aircraft at the tarmac at Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, Cross River State.
The vehicle was said to have speed through two gates of the Air Force Station into the airport, running into an Arik plane waiting to take off.
The taxi with registration number Cross River XA 254 KMM was painted with the state’s taxi colour of blue-white-blue. An eyewitness account said the cab went through the gates without any resistance, drove straight to the tarmac and hit the underbelly of the plane.
The incident occurred at about 2.35 pm. There were about 200 passengers on board the aircraft and they were successfully evacuated.
It was not certain how the driver of the vehicle passed the gates but the scene of the incident showed that the security men could not stop him. The reason for the driver's behaviour was not known as at press time.
But he was arrested and handcuffed by security agents. Upon his arrest, the driver claimed that his mission was to blow up the plane and the passengers since according to him, Nigerians are unrepentant sinners.
The man, whose name is yet to be made known, spoke in one of the dialects of neighbouring Akwa Ibom State.
“Jesus is the redeemer. Everyone should repent and follow him because I will come back and complete the attack,” he said.
The pilot of the Abuja-bound plane marked 5N-MJJ, Captain Simon Robinson, crew members and passengers who had started boarding, ran for safety while the fire fighters rushed to the scene.
Security agents condoned off the area while an anti-bomb squad from the police combed the taxi and the surroundings. The outcome of the bomb search was not made public but top sources at the airport said “no bomb was found”.
Visibly-shaken passengers said they were just settling into the aircraft when they heard a loud thud. Then they heard the alarm and were asked to disembark. At first, they thought it was a fire only to find out when they stepped out that a car had run into the fuel section of the plane.
Pandemonium ensued and they scrambled towards the departure hall.
