Nigerian airport runway lights stolen

Thieves have stolen the lighting system for one of the runways at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos.

Authorities have not established when the system was stolen, but it is said airport staff were involved in carting away the lights just months after they were installed.

A spokesperson of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) told the BBC that an investigation is underway to arrest the criminals and recover the runway lights.

As a result, local media reported that domestic carriers were forced to use the international section and taxi about 4 kilometres back to the right terminal, causing flight disruptions.

The ground lights were installed last November after years of after-dusk restrictions on landing on that wing of the airport.

An unnamed source told the local newspaper Punch that a "syndicate" of workers at the airport along with "accomplices from outside" were responsible for a series of thefts.