Essential Ndubuisi
The Federal Government of Nigeria has denied rumors that it bailed out Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, from detention in London, United Kingdom, last week.
Obi was briefly detained at Heathrow Airport in London over a case of mistaken identity during his Easter trip to the UK. Following the incident, a fake photo went viral on social media on Thursday, purporting to show 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 to secure the LP presidential candidate’s release from detention.
However, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the spokesperson and head of Media, Public Relations, and Protocol Unit of NiDCOM, has disowned the viral photo, describing it as a stunt. Balogun stated that 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 the 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 said.
Bashir Ahmad, an aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, had also tweeted on Thursday, implying that the Federal Government intervened in Peter Obi’s ordeal to secure his release. Ahmad tweeted, “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!”
