“He was questioned (by immigration) for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country,” the Labour Party said in a statement.
Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was said to have been held at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom after being approached by an immigration official, according to a statement released by the Obi-Datti media office on Wednesday.
Obi was allegedly taken aside for a copying crime, according to the LP media office, suggesting that he had been an impostor in the nation.
“Obi-Datti media office can confirm that the LP presidential candidate in the February 25 presidential poll had arrived the Heathrow Airport in London from Nigeria 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,” the media team said.
This was reported on Wednesday morning by Prof. Chinyere Okunna, a well-known mass communication expert and the deputy vice chancellor of Paul University in Awka.
Obi, who has lived in the UK, described his ordeal to Okunna, who served alongside him as commissioner for information, commissioner for economic planning, and coordinating commissioner for development partners, in private.
Okunna claimed that Obi expressed pain over his ordeal and other incidents that were intended to pursue and drive him out of Nigeria.
Okunna said that in the face of seeming protest by some Nigerians, the immigration officials revealed that someone was impersonating Obi in the country, claiming that his identity ‘was duplicated’ which raised alarms.
“He was questioned for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country.”
They added that it took the intervention of Nigerians who quickly inquired about the delay.
“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.
“Obi-Datti Media office recalls that our principal has been under all kinds of attack, since the February 25, 2023 presidential election in which as the standard bearer of the Labour Party, he put up an outstanding showing coming third out of 18 contestants as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, even though his supporters and many other election watchers including international observers believe very strongly that he won the election but was manipulated out.
“Since he was told to go to court if he feels strongly about the election which all international monitors said was flawed and full of imperfections and he accepted, there have been severe attacks on him from all corners.
“It’s also not impossible that those urging him to leave the country may have planted the impersonators ostensibly to tar the Eagle’s immaculate appearance.”
The media office gave all good-willed people, notably the ‘Obidients’, the assurance that they should not be deterred since he is willing to endure the suffering and would continue to be even more determined to follow whatever course his creator has planned for him in Nigeria.
They informed that the former governor of Anambra state is currently back in the country and has maintained his charitable efforts by making gifts and visiting hospitals. ARISE NEWS
