An Air Afrique Boeing-727 jet was the third passenger liner looted in the past month by armed robbers while awaiting takeoff at Nigeria's largest international airport, the Lagos Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday.
The thieves broke into the aircraft's luggage compartment and escaped with a large quantity of baggage as the plane was awaiting permission to take off from the Lagos international airport control tower around 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, the Guardian said. It was not clear where the airliner was destined.
There was no immediate confirmation of the report.
The plane's captain, who noticed the theft, sent a distress call that went unanswered by airport officials. Security personnel on duty later said said they were unable to capture the culprits because their only security vehicle had been taken away for routine maintenance.
In another incident last week involving an unidentified passenger jet, landing gear worth dlrs 1 million was stripped from while the plane was waiting to take off, the newspaper said. In May, a Cameroon Airlines plane was robbed of its luggage after armed thieves blocked the plane on the tarmac with a large log.
The robberies came despite orders from airport security officials to shoot suspected thieves on sight.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has a notoriously high rate of violent crime accompanied by a breakdown of law and order under years of military rule.
(fa-gam)