Passenger arrested for allegedly stealing laptop onboard Lagos-Abuja flight

A passenger has been arrested for allegedly stealing a laptop inside Ibom Air aircraft. 

According to a statement issued on Thursday by the airline, the incident happened on Wednesday, 26 July, in Lagos during boarding of Ibom Air flight Q1300 to Abuja, 

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The statement, signed by the Ibom Air spokesperson, Aniekan Essienette, identified the suspect as David Ogeneochuko.

Ms. Essienette said the suspect stole the laptop from another passenger’s bag in the overhead cabin.

“The owner of the laptop, who suspected the movement of the said Mr David (Ogeneochuko) within the aircraft, decided to check where his laptop was kept and immediately realised the item was no longer there. He raised the alarm by notifying the crew members accordingly,” the statement read. 

“A search was immediately instituted, which led to about half an hour delay, and the laptop was found with Mr. David. He was immediately offloaded and handed over to the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN) Aviation Security (AVSEC) for further investigation, who then handed him over to the Police for further investigation. 

“The police have since confirmed that the suspect is a member of a large syndicate specialising in stealing onboard aircraft,” the statement said.

Ibom Air said the passenger who owned the laptop voluntarily stepped down from the flight in order to help in the investigation.  

“Ibom Air has zero tolerance for crime on board its flight, the airline said, adding that it would prosecute any offenders to the full extent of the law,”