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Air Peace Denies Oshiomhole’s Extortion Allegations
Air Peace has denied allegations of extortion and poor customer service made by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, challenging the lawmaker to provide evidence to support his accusations.
In a statement released following the senator’s Wednesday press conference in Abuja, Air Peace described Oshiomhole’s allegations as “deliberate falsehood” and accused him of lying about the airline’s operations.
A dispute erupted at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on Wednesday morning between Air Peace and Oshiomhole, with both parties offering different accounts of what led to disruption at the terminal. According to the airline, Oshiomhole missed his flight due to the closed boarding process and then resorted to violence by physically assaulting their members of staff and forcefully barricading the entrance of the terminal. The airline said due to the senator’s actions, it was forced to activate contingency plans and boarded the affected passengers through another terminal. But responding to the airline’s allegations in Abuja on Wednesday, the former Edo State Governor and painted a different picture, accusing Air Peace of extortion and discrimination. He alleged that the airline sold last-minute tickets at inflated prices while denying boarding to passengers who booked online, discriminatory treatment of passengers and ticket racketeering. Oshiomhole then claimed that multiple passengers faced similar treatment, including a woman with a six-month-old baby who was allegedly charged an additional N109,100 on top of her original N146,000 ticket.
Again, the airline in a statement in the early hours of Thursday, contradicted the senator’s claims about overbooking and on-spot ticket sales, revealing that the aircraft took off with over 30 empty seats and that it would have been in their financial interest to accommodate Oshiomhole and other late passengers rather than fly with empty seats, but that they rather placed priority on their on-time performance. According to Air Peace, the senator jumping on the baggage conveyor belt, prevented check-in processes for other flights, barricaded the entrance gate, prevented terminal access and deliberately instigated other passengers against the airline.
“We challenge Senator Oshiomhole to bring 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. He was not fighting for anyone. He came to the airport late and was told that he was late. He then began to foment trouble,” the statement read.
Air Peace then called on the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to release CCTV footage to vindicate their version of events. “We call on the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to release the CCTV coverage starting from the time Senator Oshiomhole entered the airport, for Nigerians to see,” the airline stated.
Thesun.ng
Many people are feared to have lost their lives as a military aircraft with tail number NGR 931, en route Lagos from Benin, crashed in the Igbokoda axis of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State on Monday.
The Ondo State Police Command Spokesperson, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Akure, noted that details surrounding the incident are still emerging, as efforts to establish the full circumstances continue.
Jimoh said: “The Command urges members of the public, particularly residents of Igbokoda and adjoining communities, to remain calm and refrain from circulating unverified information.”
He stated further that the public will be duly informed as soon as further credible information is available.
Also, a statement by the Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, said that all efforts to raise the aircraft on radio proved abortive.
According to him, the wreckage has been located, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Preliminary information suggests that there were 25 passengers and 7 crew members on board.
“Whilst the control and regulation of military aircraft are completely outside the authority of the Ministry of Aviation, and Civil Aviation Authority, I have just spoken to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke and pledged our total cooperation and assistance in the search and rescue efforts ongoing”, Keyamo added.
The identity of the helicopter and the persons on board are yet to be ascertained as of the time of this report.
The Olubosin of Ifetedo in Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State, Oba Akinola Oyetade Akinrera (Latiiri I), has reportedly joined his ancestors.
Oba Akinrera, the fourth Olubosin of Ifetedo Kingdom, reportedly died on Friday, although the palace has yet to issue an official statement confirming his death.
The monarch ascended the throne in 2018 and was widely regarded by indigenes as a highly respected traditional ruler.
Before his emergence as monarch, Oba Akinrera, a lawyer and public servant, had worked in different capacities, including as a teacher, police officer and staff member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
He joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1988 and served until 1992, when he joined the NNPC in Lagos.
Born into the Ifetedo community, the late monarch attended CAC Primary School, Ipetumodu, before proceeding to Ifetedo Grammar School for his secondary education.
He later attended the Oyo State College of Education, which subsequently became the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, and is now the University of Ilesa.
In 1993, he proceeded to Lagos State University, Ojo, where he obtained a Diploma in Law. He subsequently gained admission to the University of Lagos in 1997 to study Law and graduated in 2004.
Following his reported death, tributes have continued to pour in from indigenes and residents of Ifetedo, with social media platforms awash with condolence messages mourning the monarch.
Many of the messages described Oba Akinrera as a respected traditional ruler whose reign contributed to the development and unity of Ifetedo Kingdom.
As of the time of filing this report, the palace had not officially announced the monarch’s death or released details regarding his burial arrangements.
The Imo State Police Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, has revealed that security operatives have identified the location where 19 prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in the state are being held.
This comes two days after gunmen abducted prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The victims were travelling in two buses when the attackers struck along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in the Umunoha area of Imo State on Thursday.
Naija News reports that Bosso, while giving an update on the search-and-rescue operation in a media interview on Saturday, said security operatives have delayed moving into the camp over fears that it is planted with improvised explosive devices.
Bosso said the police used drones on Friday to locate the suspected camp after security operatives trailed the abductors into the bush, but the security agencies were being cautious because intelligence indicated that the camp had been mined with IEDs.
According to him, the security agencies were preparing to move into the area with heavy equipment, including bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers, in an effort to rescue the victims safely.
He said, “Any moment, we’ll still move into the bush. Yesterday, we were in the bush, we trailed them up to a particular location.
“But at that point in time, we couldn’t move in to where the coordinate showed us where they are because we ran drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us exactly their location.
“But our predicament is that with the intel we have, the IED is the camp is mined with IEDs.
“We are moving in there with high, you know, high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers, we’re moving in with bulldozers and APCs to see how we’re going to rescue these victims unhurt.”
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