Oshiomhole on Airport Drama: ‘Air Peace Tried to Extort Me’  

Senator Adams Oshiomhole of Edo North has pushed back against Air Peace’s claim that he caused a disturbance at the airport. Rather than disrupting flight operations, Oshiomhole said he simply refused to accept special favours and stood firm against what he describes as the airline’s exploitative ticketing and check-in practices.

According to Air Peace, the former governor showed up late for flight P4 7120 to Abuja and then blocked other passengers while demanding to board. 

But Oshiomhole tells a different story. He says he arrived 40 minutes before his 6:50 p.m. departure, with his bags already checked, only to be told the counters had closed. 

While later arrivals were granted access, he and his aide, both holding business-class tickets, were left stranded, forcing him to spend over ₦1.5 million on last-minute hotel accommodation.

Determined to get on his flight the next morning, the senator checked in online the previous night and arrived before dawn for a 6:30 a.m. takeoff. Yet staff insisted the gate had shut at 6:05 a.m. despite selling new seats at more than double the original price to walk-in customers.

 “They refused to honour my online check-in and kept boarding others who paid higher fares on the spot,” he said, calling it “plain extortion.”

Oshiomhole maintained his composure even as frustrated travellers, including mothers with infants, began to protest. He declined an offer for VIP treatment, telling officials, “Treat me like every other passenger and follow the rules.” 

He criticised what he called a “culture of impunity,” where influential figures receive help while everyday Nigerians are left to fend for themselves. “If standing up for fairness makes me a troublemaker, then I’ll make trouble forever,” he insisted.

In the face of what he sees as the airline’s arbitrary enforcement of its own policies, Oshiomhole called on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the federal government to intervene.

He warned that continued profiteering at the expense of passengers will only deepen public outrage: “When people lose hope, no amount of security will hold them back. Our government must step in to protect us from these exploitative practices.”