THE Federal Government on Thursday said it would prosecute an architect who allegedly destroyed the concrete perimeter fence being erected at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

Covering about two kilometre, the fence is part of the ongoing rehabilitation of the airport.

Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said the perpetrator destroyed a “national security asset” at a time the Federal Government was in the course of delivering the Enugu airport on August 30.

He told reporters during a tour: “While the procurement (of the Enugu airport rehabilitation) was going on, a certain cantankerous individual…came with bulldozers and hundreds of armed thugs and destroyed more than 2km of our fence.”

The minister, who described the action as unfortunate, said the perpetrator “has given the government the opportunity to show how not to willfully destroy public asset belonging to over 200 million people”.

He reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to reopening the airport on August 30.

He expressed dismay that despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts to get the airport working “at this very austere time”, “a certain cantankerous individual appeared from nowhere with bulldozers and destroyed this national security asset”.