Heathrow airport detention: British Govt hasn’t apologised to me, says Peter Obi

Obiora Ifoh

Presidential Candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has denied receiving any letter of apology from the British government over his detention by immigration officials at Heathrow Airport in London.

On Thursday, rumours started making the rounds that the British authorities have apologised.

But in a statement on Thursday, Diran Onifade Head, Obi-Datti Media, said, “We have been receiving enquiries with regards to a so called apology, purportedly issued by the British Government or any of its agencies, to our Principal Mr Peter Obi, in respect of a routine Immigration engagement with him, as he arrived London, for a brief visit, last Friday, the 7th of April.

“We would like to state emphatically that we are not aware of any such apology, and have not issued any statement whatsoever, in that regard. While we continue to examine any dubious or political motive, on the part of the perpetrators of the identity theft, we have every confidence in the ability of the British authorities to resolve the matter, to conclusion,” Onifade said.

He said the former governor of Anambra State and the LP/PCC have since moved on from the incident and continue to be totally focused, on the legal processes before the Election Petition Tribunal towards the recovery of their mandate, which they are convinced, was overwhelmingly expressed by voters, in the Presidential election of February 25.

It would be recalled that Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, was stopped and questioned at the airport by the United Kingdom immigration office last Friday, April 7. He was however allowed to go following protests by Nigerians at the airport

However, The Federal Government of Nigeria has denied news making the rounds that it intervened in the detention ordeal of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in London, United Kingdom last week.

Obi was briefly detained at Hearthrow Airport in London in a case of mistaken identity during his trip to celebrate Easter in the UK.

A fake photo has gone viral on the social media on Thursday purportedly showing the executive chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, seated in an office with Obi and a UK law enforcement officer in order to secure the LP presidential candidate’s release from detention.

Also, an aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, also tweeted on Thursday, implying that the Federal Government intervened in Peter Obi’s ordeal to secure his release.

Ahmad wrote: “I heard Aunty @Abike Dabiri has done it for the Compatriot that needed her intervention in the UK. God bless you and the services you have been rendering for our countrymen and women, especially this recent one, ma’am!”

But, the spokesperson and head of Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NiDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, has disowned the viral photo, describing it as a stunt.

He said the NiDCOM boss, Dabiri-Erewa, was not in the UK and not in a position to secure the release of any Nigerian suspected to be under UK interrogation



“Our attention has been called to the above social.media stunt which has gone viral. Aunty Abike Dabiri-Erewa is NOT in UK and NOT in a position to secure the release of any Nigerian suspected to be under UK interrogation. So, members of the public should disregard the information in its entirety,” the NiDCOM spokesman stated.