"Abike Dabiri did not intervene in Obi's UK ordeal" NiDCOM denies claim made by Bashir Ahmad and Adamu Garba

 

The Nigerian Federal Government has refuted claims by Bashir Ahmad and Adamu Garba that it intervened to secure the release of Peter Obi, who was reportedly held up at an airport in London, United Kingdom last week.

The incident drew the attention of the Nigerian government on April 13, when Bashir Ahmad, an aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, tweeted that the government had intervened to secure Obi's release. However, the government has denied any involvement in the matter.

In his tweet, Ahmad had thanked Abike Dabiri, the chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission, for her intervention. However, the Nigerian government has clarified that it did not play a role in the matter.

In addition to Bashir Ahmad's tweet, former presidential aspirant of the APC, Adamu Garba, also claimed via Twitter that the APC-led Federal Government facilitated Peter Obi's release from detention in the UK. Garba attributed the release to the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), headed by Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

However, the Nigerian government has denied any involvement in the matter and has made no statement regarding the allegations made by Garba. It is unclear whether Obi was indeed detained in the UK or whether there were any issues with his travel documents.

NiDCOM has denied any involvement in the alleged detention of Peter Obi and disowned the viral photo shared by Adamu Garba, which he claimed showed the commission's intervention. The spokesperson and head of Media, Public Relations, and Protocol Unit of NiDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, described the photo as a stunt and stated that Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the commission's boss, was not in the UK and was not in a position to secure the release of any Nigerian suspected to be under UK interrogation.

Despite NiDCOM's clarification, the tweets by Bashir Ahmad and Adamu Garba remain on their respective accounts.