The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has opened up on his experience with immigration officers at the Heathrow international airport, London.
Obi said he was never arrested or detained by officials of the British government.
He insisted that what went down at Heathrow International Airport was a case of carrying out a routine immigration check because his identity had been alleged to have been compromised.
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The Nation reports on April 12, LP announced that Obi was harassed and detained at Heathrow Airport in London over alleged impersonation.
The party said Obi was questioned for a “long time” and it took the intervention of Nigerians for him to be released.
But in an interview with Arise TV monitored by The Nation, the former Anambra Governor narrated his experience.
Obi said he was stopped for routine immigration checks while contradicting his party’s claim that he was questioned for a long time.
He said: “I was never arrested, I was never detained. And I did not commit any offence. I was stopped for a routine immigration check because there appeared to be a duplication of my identity and all this lasted for a maximum of 20 minutes.
“I lived in the UK from 1993 until 2005. From then till now is a period of 30 years. I have never been questioned, arrested or detained in any country in the world. I have never for any reason found myself being questioned for any offence.
“It was a routine immigration check and I was actually given all the due respect by the border personality that interviewed me, who told me ‘your identity has been duplicated, be careful’.”
Obi noted that despite once having a permanent residency in the UK, he chose to return to Nigeria, adding that “I was born a Nigerian. I will want to live and die a Nigerian”.
“I have not committed any offence, so it was a routine immigration check, and it lasted for less than 20 minutes, and I was actually given all the due respect by the border personality, who told me that my identity has been duplicated.
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“And I have a written document from the British government clarifying that I was never detained and that it was a few minutes’ routine check,” he added.
The Nation
