Halogen Securities reward airport security guard who returned bag of dollars

Achi Daniel, a security guard of Halogen Securities Limited who found and returned a bag containing dollars, jewelries and other documents at the multi-level car park of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos said that it was not his first time of returning money in foreign currencies to their rightful owners.

He disclosed this on Thursday when the management of the security company rewarded him and his supervisor, Francis Emepueaku, with Education Scholarship and the sum of N250,000 for their honesty.

The items were discovered at the airport car park last Saturday evening by the duo.

Speaking at the event organised to reward the duo, Daniel who disclosed that he had worked at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos in the past, explained that he had returned sums recovered in the cause of his duty to their owners before now, adding that he was never tempted to bolt with the money.

He said, “If the money was in millions of foreign currencies, I would still have returned it. I saw the bag on a trolley and I said to myself that somebody must have forgotten it there; it was not padlocked and without opening it, I went to the ground floor with the bag to meet my supervisor.

L – R: Wale Olaoye, Group Managing Director, Halogen Security Company Ltd;; Eng Salisu Daura ,Director, Engineering Services, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria; Emepueaku Francis; Achie Daniel, the two Halogen Security guards being honoured for returning a forgotten bag containing valuables; Francis Ikenga, MD, Seymour Aviation and Wale Odufalu, Deputy Managing Director, Alphamead Group during the official reception and award ceremony for the Halogen heroes held at Halogen Security head office in Lagos on Thursday.

“Inside the bag, I saw a mobile phone, jewelries and huge amount of money in dollars and several other documents. At that point, we went straight to the manager’s office who now put a call through to somebody in Atlanta Georgia, who happened to be the daughter of the owner of the bag.

“When they returned, they were jittery that some of the items in the bag may have vanished, but after crosschecking it, she discovered that everything was intact and the family attempted to give us some amount of money as a form of appreciation, which we rejected, telling them that we were doing our job.

“It never crossed my mind to steal the money and I wouldn’t have done that because it wasn’t my first time of finding such and returning to the owners. No amount of money would make me to take what doesn’t belong to me. I believe my own time will come and at the right time.”

Also speaking, the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engr. Saleh Dunoma, said that several other related cases had been recorded at the nation’s airports.

Dunoma, who was represented at the event by the Director of Engineering Services, Engr. Salisu Daura, noted that the development gives confidence to the security profiling approach of the agency.

He emphasised that the duo would forever be remembered in the annals of the industry as role models, reference points, shining lights and good ambassadors.

Also at the event was Dr. Banji Oyegbami, a medical practitioner who had gone to the car park to pick up his friend and his family who returned to the country for a burial programme.

According to him, he had parked his car on the first floor of the car park and waited for his guests to arrive, which took another one hour and later the team moved towards the car park to commence their journey out of the airport.

But, over an hour after driving, his friend – whose name he declined to mention – received a call from his daughter in the United State about a found bag, which incidentally belonged to the wife.

“It was only then that my friend’s wife realised that her bag was missing. To confirm the information, I called the missing phone and it was picked. The receiver confirmed that the bag was with him. He gave his name as Mr. Francis and that he is the supervisor of the park.

“We headed back to the airport with speed and shortly we met Francis who after confirming madam’s identity narrated the story. A junior officer of Halogen Securities, Mr. Achie Daniel found the bag and gave it to his supervisor as lost and found item,” he added.