Airport Security in Massive Extortion

Sleuth investigations conducted at the Accra International Airport, the nation's premier airport, has revealed that Security Officers at the Airport harass and extort monies from tourists and other travelers.

Our sources at the airport revealed that security officers deployed mainly at the traveling and other entrance points are the main culprits in such corrupt practices.

TODAY discovered from investigations that some travelers are manhandled, maltreated and frustrated by the airport security officers and guards.

In an interview, some of the tourists bemoaned the inhumane and disrespectful behaviours exhibited by the airport security officers towards them.

"By the procedures involved on how one gets access to the inner travel post, a person needs to have a passport which will then confirm one's eligibility, so naturally anyone who enters the premises has a passport but until one is unable to show the passport “ anything short of that you are driven out, why should it be so? Esther Bannerman, a traveler wondered.

This reporter learned that this procedure has often been abused and even in a situation where you are a Ghanaian and you show your passport you are disallowed entry. The drift is that a traveler would have to pay the security guard before you are spared the ordeal.

Some of the Ghanaian travelers alleged that foreigners are rather given attention more than their Ghanaian counterparts because they (foreigners) easily succumb to the extortion tricks of the airport security officers.

The paper also found out that these security officers sometimes use their imposing stature to abuse people, especially family members who escort relatives traveling.

"The way they would even talk to you and attend to you in the first place is a big trauma in itself “so you would wonder how our own Ghanaian security officers are treating us, my brother it is disgusting and nothing to write home about," Mr James Adjei, a concerned traveler stated.

A foreign traveler who spoke to the paper on strict conditions of anonymity labeled the security personnel at the Ghana International Airport as "very unprofessional in their handlings and dealings with people".

The anonymous traveler narrated how for several years he was manhandled by these guys anytime he used the exit point to travel because he could not succumb to the extortion overtures of the Airport security detail.

"These guys for some time now have tried in vain to collect some monies from me, anytime I use this corridor and resorted to frustrating me so that, I succumb to their orders and pursuits," he stated.

He noted that many foreigners who once knew the country for its high level of hospitability are beginning to think otherwise after such hostile approaches meted out to them when traveling or entering the country.

"Note that whatever anyone sees upon arrival in a new environment is what is carried out, that is normal and that is what these foreign travelers, including myself will carry back home", he noted.

A businesswoman, Mrs Bediako, also narrated her ordeal at the hands of the notorious Airport security when she disclosed that in one of her travelling, a security officer at one of the entry points nearly caused her to miss her flight after being delayed for the more than 30 minutes because she could not show her passport upon request by the said officer.

“I explained to this guy that I had a passport, but it was with my partner at the departure point. I told him that I went out to buy padlocks for my luggage and that was why I did not have my passport at that moment…

These guys were never ready to listen to me and they delayed me so much so that it nearly caused me to miss my flight”, she told the paper.

“I did everything I could to make these guys understand that I had a passport but they were adamant and insisted that I pay something or miss my flight”, Mrs Bediako narrated.

“The argument went on until their own colleague pulled me inside and asked me to give him some money since that will convince his colleagues to calm down”, she further narrated.

One of the security officers at the entry point who spoke on condition of anonymity tried to explain the prevailing situation and gave an insight into the awful behaviours of his colleagues.

The anonymous security officer pointed out that management of Ghana International Airport has on several occasions trained security personnel in ways of providing maximum security at the airport and travelers alike but unfortunately some of his colleagues fail to implement what they have been taught and in the process tarnish the image of the aviation security.

Other travelers who spoke to the paper pleaded with authorities of the Ghana International Airport (GIA) to place structures that will monitor the activities of security personnel especially at the entry points and ensure that they immediately put a stop to sacking visitors, families who draw closer to the entry points sometimes with canes.

Mr. Afrifa Aikins bemoaned the practice where some of the Airport security personnel resort to the use canes to sack people who usually accompany travelers.

According to Mr Aikins, a security person on duty that evening chased her mum, 79, with cane and that experience almost resulted in the death of his mother, noting that “when clearly where my mum was standing was far away from the entry point”.