Mr Olayinka Adeniyi, a cab operator under the Airport Car Hire Association of Nigeria (ACHAN), Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, has returned 2,400 US dollars, (about N888,000), and an international passport forgotten by a passenger.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]deniyi told newsmen on Wednesday that he discovered the items in an envelope at the back seat of the car he was driving on July 29. This was shortly after he returned from Ibese in Ikorodu where he dropped a passenger.
The cab driver said he never had it in mind to take someone’s belongings because it would put sorrow in another family’s life.
Adeniyi, who had been operating at the airport for over 15 years, said: “At about 1:30 a.m. on July 29, I met this passenger on arrival at the International airport.
“I negotiated with him and we agreed at N6,000 to transport him to his destination at Ikorodu.
“I returned to the airport immediately I dropped him at his house.
“But no sooner than I arrived and parked my car at the airport, I discovered an envelope had been left behind 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 only to discover that something was wrapped in it. It was dollars in $100 denomination. I counted and they were 24 in number,” he said.
Adeniyi said he reported the items to the officer- on- duty at the airport’s arrival car park and was instructed to drop the parcel at ACHAN’s secretariat.
Speaking on the recovery, the passenger, Mr Dele Ayeni said he was a living testimony to the advantages of taking cab from registered points at airports.
“I arrived Lagos from Cairo on July 29 at about 1:30 am on Monday. As I was coming out of the terminal, I met this polite driver who agreed to take me to my destination at Ikorodu.
“While on the way, I decided to drop my jacket on the floor of the car to avoid being noticed as an important man sitting in the rear seat of the car.”
