HOUSE PROBES ALLEGED ABUSE OF BODY-SCANNERS AT AIRPORTS

The House of Representatives yesterday mandated its Committee on Aviation to investigate reports of alleged abusive use of full body scanners at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.  The lawmakers also ordered the Federal Ministry of Aviation to install separate full body scanners for male and female air passengers at the airports.  The resolution   came after the House adopted a motion on the issue sponsored by Rep. Umar Ibrahim Kurfi (PDP, Katsina) who said that, there were reported cases of  abuse of the full body scanners by male personnel drafted to man the systems at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

He said there have been damning reports of such personnel allegedly finding pleasure looking at images of unsuspecting passengers who pass through the scanners for hours, especially the females and lamented that there have been alleged instances where the operators would be found 'giggling' at the images they see on the monitors, which he said were placed in an obscure manner from the passenger.