Peter Obi, Labour Party Presidential candidate.
British immigration, last Friday allegedly detained and questioned Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi for hours over " duplicated" identity when he disembarked at Heathrow Airport, London.
Narrating Obi's sad experience, a former aide to the LP Presidential candidate, Professor Chinyere Okunna in a post on Wednesday morning said the detention, subsequent interrogation, and investigation of Mr. Obi by the British immigration is unusual, considering that he " had lived honorably in the UK for a long time."
Professor Okunna said that following protests by some well-meaning Nigerians against his harassment, a British immigration officer disclosed that Mr. Peter Obi's identity was "duplicated."
According to a report by Sahara Reporters, Prof. Okunna raised grave concerns about the safety of Mr. Obi and the security implications of the development, saying that such an impersonator could implicate Obi in various criminal activities.
Okunna wrote, “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 unusual for a man who had lived honorably 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 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 offenses; he could get Obi framed for one criminal act or another. The frightening scenario of what can happen is unimaginable,” Professor Okunna noted.
Prof Chinyere Okunna is a Mass Communications scholar, and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Paul University Awka,
She served variously under Peter Obi's administration in Anambra state as commissioner for information, commissioner for economic planning, and coordinating commissioner for development partners.
Human Rights. Politics and Opinion.
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