TheCable

The Labour Party (LP) says Peter Obi, its presidential candidate, was harassed and detained by London immigration officials over alleged impersonation. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the Obi-Datti media office said the LP presidential candidate was detained at the Heathrow Airport after being accosted by an immigration officer.

According to the LP media office, Obi was pulled aside for an alleged duplication offense, implying that he had an impersonator in the country.

“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.

“He was questioned for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country.”

The Labour Party added that it took the intervention of Nigerians who quickly raised their voices asking why Obi 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 offense, meaning that someone has been impersonating him in London,” the Obi-Datti media team said.

“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.”

TheCable could not immediately reach the UK immigration office to confirm the detention allegation.