The United Kingdom government has apologized to Mr Peter Obi after immigration official admitted he wrongly handed him a detention note in a search of man who impersonated him to commit perjury, forgery and identity theft.
They also said the uncomplimentary treatment he received was “completely unacceptable,” and issued a personal apology.
“Frankly, the Immigration Official’s action – has been appalling – and we are sorry,” Immigration authorities apologized.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, was unlawfully detained and interrogated for hours by immigration officials at Heathrow Airport in London on April 7, 2023.
The Head of Obi-Datti Media Office, Diran Onifade, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The Obi-Datti media office said the former Governor of Anambra State was wrongly detained over offences allegedly committed by an impostor who is still at large.
The statement added that the impostor of Obi may commit various crimes that would lead to the arrest of the LP flagbearer in the United Kingdom for duplication.
The statement reads in part: “The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi just back from London, United Kingdom where he celebrated Easter, has confirmed that he was harassed by London immigration officials and placed in detention but for the spontaneous reaction of Nigerians at Heathrow Airport.
“Obi-Datti Media office can confirm that the LP Presidential candidate in the February 25 Presidential poll arrived at the Heathrow Airport in London from Nigeria on Good Friday, April 7, 2023, and joined the queue for the necessary Airport protocols when he was accosted by an immigration official who handed him a detention note and told him to step aside. He was questioned for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country.
“Since Obi’s face was already an international frame, especially for Nigerians, Africans home, and in Diaspora who are likely to be Obidients, the people quickly raised their voices wondering why he was being delayed.
“The immigration officials who were also taken aback at the reaction of the people were forced to reveal that Obi was being questioned for a duplication offense meaning that someone has been impersonating him in London.
“The high implication of the offense is that the impersonator could be committing all kinds of weighty crimes and other dubious acts and it would be recorded in Obi’s name.
“Since the impersonator is still at large, the scenario is unimaginable as Obi could be implicated in a series of forbidden acts and even be framed in a manner that could be a huge embarrassment to him, his family, his party, the Obidient Movement, and indeed Nigeria, where he currently and indisputably remains the conscience of the people.”
