Airport Car hire operator returns N888,000 passport to passenger

A driver at the Airport Car Hire Association of Nigeria (ACHAN), Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Mr. Adeniyi Olayinka, has returned N888, 000 and an international passport forgotten by a passenger in his car, to the owner.

Olayinka told reporters on Wednesday at the airport that he discovered the items in an envelope left by the passenger at the back seat of the car shortly after he returned to the airport from Ibese, Ikorodu, the passenger’s destination.

“Although it can be tempting to some people to see such money and pocket it, especially when their income is very low, for me, it never crossed my mind to do so, because it will create sorrow in another family and also such idea is against the orientation we are given at ACHAN by our leaders,” he said.

Explaining how he found the money and passport, Olayinka, who has been operating at the airport for 15 years, said: “At about 1:30am on Monday, I met this passenger on arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. I negotiated with him and we agreed at N6,000 to take him to his destination in Ikorodu. I returned to the airport immediately I dropped him at his house. But no sooner I arrived and parked my car at the airport than I discovered that an envelope was left on the back seat of my car. I picked the envelope and opened it. What I saw was his international passport.

“I looked further into the envelope and discovered there was another white envelope inside. I opened the second envelope and discovered that something was wrapped in it. When I removed the wrapper I discovered it contained mint notes of US dollars. They were in $100 denomination. I counted and they were 24, totalling $2,400. When converted at the prevailing rate of N370 as at Monday morning, it amounted to N888, 000. Based on the orientation and instructions we received from the leadership of ACHAN on a weekly basis, “I reported the findings to the officer on duty at the arrival car park of the airport. I was instructed to drop the parcel and its contents at our secretariat at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Since I didn’t have the passenger’s phone contact, I had to go to the place where I dropped him to inform him or his family about the discovery. But by the time I got to the passenger’s home at Ibese – Ikorodu, I was told he had returned to the airport to look for the lost parcel. As I was leaving the house in Ikorodu, I got a call from our secretariat that the passenger was already at the airport to report the loss.”

Speaking about the recovery, the passenger, Dele Ayeni, an engineer, who said he was a testimony to the advantages of taking cabs from registered point at airports, believed that there was hope for Nigeria.

He said: “I arrived Lagos from Cairo, the capital of Egypt, on July 29, at about 1:30am. My intention when I arrived was to call an Uber operator to take me home, but as I was coming out of the terminal, I met this polite driver, who agreed to take me to my destination in Ikorodu at an agreed fee of N6000.

While on the way, I decided to drop my jacket on the floor of the car to avoid being noticed  as a very important man sitting at the rear seat of the car.  Immediately we got to my house in Ikorodu, I removed my jacket from where I had kept it and also my luggage, without noticing that the envelope in the jacket had dropped on the back seat. Unfortunately, I didn’t open my luggage to bring out what I had for my family until after I woke up in the afternoon. That was when I discovered that the envelope was missing in my jacket. I exclaimed. I said all my suffering during the trip has resulted in total loss. My wife began to calm me down. She advised that we should look around the compound to see if it dropped in the compound, but I said no that if it had dropped in the compound I would have seen it as I was bringing in my luggage. I insisted that it didn’t drop on the premises but in the cab. My wife then asked me where I took the cab; I told her it was at the airport and she advised that I should go to the airport to inquire if it had been found. I told her I didn’t know the name of the driver or the vehicle number.  However, with her encouragement I came to the airport and went to the car park where I boarded the cab. Immediately I complained to one of the drivers, who happened to be the duty officer for that shift, he asked me my name and I told him. The next thing I noticed on his face was a broad smile; he then told me that the envelope was found in the car and had been deposited at their secretariat. And that the driver who took me home had gone to my house again to inform me about the discovery. This is a living testimony that Nigeria has hope.”

Speaking while handing the items recovered in the car to the owner, the Chairman, ACHAN MMIA, Lagos, Elder Olubi Ojo, said Ayeni’s case was just one of the many cases the association handled regularly.

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