The Federal Government of Nigeria has denied news making the rounds that it intervened in the detention ordeal of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in London, United Kingdom last week.
During the trip to the UK to observe Easter, Peter Obi was momentarily delayed at Hearthrow Airport in London due to a case of mistaken identity.
A fake image circulated on social media on Thursday, allegedly depicting the executive chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, sitting in an office with Obi and a UK law enforcement officer to secure the release of the LP presidential candidate from detention.
Additionally, Bashir Ahmad, a close aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, tweeted on Thursday that the Federal Government had interfered in Peter Obi’s plight to ensure his release.
Ahmad wrote;
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!
I heard Aunty @AbikeDabiri 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!
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) April 13, 2023
However, Gabriel Odu, NiDCOM’s spokesperson and head of the organization’s media, public relations, and protocol unit, clarified that the news report circulating that the organization’s chairman and CEO, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had released Peter Obi from custody in the UK was “fake, fake, and very fake.”
