From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi has raised the alarm over plot to impersonate and frame him in the United Kingdom.
The former Anambra State governor, who recently returned to the country from London where he celebrated Easter, said he was harassed by immigration officials in the country and detained over impersonation. He said he was saved by the spontaneous reaction of Nigerians at Heathrow Airport, London.
A statement by the Obi-Datti media team, yesterday, said the immigration officials who questioned the LP presidential candidate were forced by Nigerians at the airport to reveal that he was held for a duplication offence.
The team claimed someone had been impersonating Obi in London, and that given the fact that the impostor was still at large, the former Anambra State governor could be implicated in a number of illegal activities.
It said: “Obi arrived 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 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 the 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 offence 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.”
Obi-Datti Media office recalled that the former Anambra State Governor has been under all kinds of attack since the February presidential election where he put up an outstanding showing coming third out of 18 contestants as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The group claim his supporters, other election watchers including international observers believe strongly that Obi 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 chorused were flawed and full of imperfections and he accepted, there have been severe attacks on him from all corners. Even Federal Government who directed him to go to court even despatched the Minister of Information Lai Mohammad to the United States to attempt at de-marketing him and accuse him of treason.
“Obi’s telephone line was also bugged when they were possibly looking for information to portray him badly before a section of the country who had voted for him massively. As if they were not getting the desired results of denting his image, and possibly placing the traducers under a heavier conscience load, they tried to persuade him to leave the country and go take a rest,” it alleged.
It assured all persons of goodwill, especially the Obidients that Obi was not deterred as he was ready to suffer the pain and remain more determined to pursue whichever path his creator destined for him in Nigeria.