Air Peace Fires Back as Oshiomhole Accuses Carrier of Extortion, Sends Strong Message to FAAN

• Air Peace said it is "absolutely false" that Senator Adams Oshiomhole was offered preferential treatment and that he was fighting for others at the Lagos airport on Wednesday, June 11
• Air Peace insisted that Oshiomhole came to the airport late and was told that he was late and subsequently "began to forment trouble"
• The Nigerian air carrier stated that "while he (Oshiomhole) was doing all these, he also deliberately instigated other passengers" against it

Ikeja, Lagos state - Air Peace on Thursday morning, June 12, said the extortion allegation by Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, is "false".

In a statement obtained by Legit.ng, the air carrier said Oshiomhole's accusation of extortion and arbitrary policy changes by Air Peace, is a "lie".

It noted that Oshiomhole's accusation of extortion is "very defamatory" while describing the politician's conduct as "very violent, unbecoming, unfortunate and above all, shameful".

Recall on Wednesday, June 11, Air Peace condemned the “unruly conduct” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain at the Zulu Hall located at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1.

In two videos circulated on Wednesday, June 11, on X (formerly Twitter), Oshiomhole could be seen addressing an official at the airport and also sitting in front of a gate at the terminal.

Commenting on the incident via a statement, the airline accused the politician of disrupting its airport operations after missing a scheduled flight.

But addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, June 11, Oshiomhole stated that he arrived at the airport on Tuesday, June 10, at 6:10 pm for a 6:50 pm flight and met the airline’s 30-minute check-in deadline.

Oshiomhole said despite holding a business class ticket, he was denied boarding while his aide was allowed through. According to him, the incident forced him to lodge at a hotel, where he paid N1.5 million to accommodate himself and two Ghanaian passengers who were also stranded.

The senator said he returned for the 6:30 am flight the next morning, Wednesday, June 11, having checked in online at 7:46 pm the previous night.

The politician said he was again turned back, along with other passengers, after a “sudden” change in policy that now required passengers to check in 45 minutes before departure.

Oshiomhole said what he witnessed was a pattern of extortion, with airline staff denying boarding to passengers with online bookings and reselling tickets at inflated prices. The federal lawmaker also dismissed Air Peace's allegation that he caused a scene.

But in a statement by its management on Thursday, June 12, Air Peace asserted that Oshiomhole 'peddled falsehood'.

Air Peace said:

"The senator lied blatantly when he accused Air Peace of extorting its passengers. We challenge Senator Oshiomhole to bring one evidence of a passenger that was extorted.

"None of our staff ever extorted any passenger. In fact, no ticket was sold after the closure of check-in on that flight. Everyone who flew bought their ticket prior to the flight closure."

Furthermore, the aviation company quashed the accusation that its flight was overbooked as some of Oshiomhole's videos alleged.

It said:

"In fact, the aircraft took off with over thirty (30) empty seats. It would have been in our interest to carry Oshiomhole and those others who missed their flights for lateness on this flight, instead of flying many empty seats; but we will never sacrifice our strict on-time performance for monetary gains."

Conclusively, Air Peace asked the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to release the closed-circuit television (CCTV) coverage starting from the time the former Edo governor entered the airport, for the public to see.

2027 presidency: Oshiomhole drags Atiku

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Oshiomhole criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for always defecting from one political party to another.

The former governor of Edo state explained that Atiku's history of jumping from one party to another was a reflection of his experience in political realignment.

Source: Legit.ng