‘UK might have accidentally stumbled on some evil plot by APC,’ as Nigerians condemn Obi’s airport ordeal

Nigerians have condemned the recent ordeal suffered by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 election, Peter Obi, at the London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom (UK), Tuesday evening, from security officials over allegation of identity theft.

Obi was reportedly delayed and interrogated over suspicion of ‘false identity,’ as claimed by the UK airport security operatives.

Obi who earlier, same Tuesday, was at the official opening of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Specialist Hospital built by the Sisters of Immaculate Heart Congregation, Nkpor, and also visited St. Charles Borromeo Hospital, Nkpor in Anambra State, where he had made a N10 million donation to the management of the two hospitals, left for London only to be held at the London Heathrow Airport for some hours as security officials reviewed his travel documents.

According to UK authorities, it appeared someone had cloned Obi’s identity for another travel particulars.

The Obi ordeal was made public, Tuesday night, by a former commissioner and Chief of Staff to the LP flagbearer when he was Anambra State Governor, Prof Stella Okunna, in a Facebook post.

According to Prof. Okunna, the LP presidential candidate had requested the conversation to remain private, while narrating it from London, but she felt the need to divulge it to the general public.

Okunna had served as Commissioner for Information, Commissioner for Economic Planning, as well as Coordinating Commissioner for Development in Anambra State during the two-terms of Obi.

According to Okunna, Obi, on arrival at the London Heathrow Airport, Tuesday night, was stopped, questioned for a long time, handed a detention note and told to wait for further interrogation and investigation.

“He was later told that his (Obi) identity was duplicated by a yet-to-be identified person.”

 Okunna then added that in the face of seeming protest by some Nigerians who were observing the incident at the airport, the immigration officials revealed that someone was impersonating Obi in the country.

“Today, 11/04/2023, I was shocked beyond words to hear from His Excellency Mr Peter what he went through when his British Airways plane landed at Heathrow Airport London in the early morning of Friday 07/04/2023.

“He was talking to me at the Official Opening of the Specialist Hospital of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Sisters, Nkpor. He had arrived at the event after flying in from London, his presence heralded by the usual ‘ear-splitting’ ovation that accompanies him everywhere nowadays. As the “Most Outstanding Pillar of the Foundation/Hospital”, the Reverend Sisters were full of expectations that he would attend; so were we (Members of the Governing Board of the IHM Sisters Healthcare System), although there was also anxiety about whether he would be able to make it, being outside Nigeria.

“I suppose he told me all this confidentially. My very sincere apologies, Your Excellency, for ‘breaking’ this confidentiality, but History beckons and I CANNOT KEEP QUIET.

“He arrived at Heathrow Airport and joined the usual queue to pass through Immigration, and that was when his ordeal began.

“He was stopped and questioned for a long time and subsequently handed a detention note and told to wait for further interrogation and investigation. This was terribly unusual for a man who had lived honourably in the UK for a long time.

“In the face of this harassment, some well-meaning Nigerians, knowing who he is, raised their voices in protest, demanding to know why he was being treated that way.”

“The shocking revelation by the Immigration Officer was that his (Obi’s) identity ‘was duplicated’. This revelation has definitely set off alarm bells.

“For people who are knowledgeable about such matters, this is a very dangerous development because the implication is that someone is impersonating Peter Obi.

“And that someone could implicate Obi in all manner of dubious and even criminal activities, and rope him into any number of offences; he could get Obi framed for one criminal act or another. The frightening scenario of what can happen is unimaginable,” Okunna post read.

Reacting to the incident, some Nigerians were quick to point accusing fingers a the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who, according to them, will stop at nothing to rope Obi into crime just to tarnish his credibility.

This is just as others urged Nigerians in Diaspora to fish out the culprit who is parading himself as Obi, as they added, the incident is a serious one.

“What this means is that if that fake Obi commits a crime now in the UK or anywhere else in the world, it will be traced to the LP presidential candidate,” said Ngozi Okonkwo.

“The more I have considered this, the more convinced I am, that the  UK might have accidentally stumbled on some evil plot by @OfficialAPCNg @officialABAT and compromised elements within the security services. Who else has the capacity and interest in duplicating PO’s passport?” wrote rights activist, Mr Dele Farotimi via his Twitter handle (@DeleFarotimi), Wednesday.

Continuing, Mr Farotimi said: “It’ll be exceedingly moronic to rule the British government out of any mischief designed to keep Nigeria supine, but it is my belief that they are only tangentially connected to this plot..”

On the possibility of the United Kingdom’s complicity, Farotimi said: “Not impossible, the UK is the primary beneficiary of the ruination of Nigeria.”