There was pandemonium in the early hours of Wednesday 11th June at the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos after the former governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomole, allegedly ordered the closure of the Zulu Terminal at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT).
Oshiomole was alleged to have arrived late for his flight to Abuja.
In the viral video, the senator representing Edo North was seen exchanging words with airport staff after he was told that the boarding process had closed and that he had missed his flight.
Oshiomole allegedly became aggressive and engaged the airline staff in a heated argument and allegedly blocked the terminal entrance, preventing other passengers from accessing the departure hall.
However, X users formerly Twitter expressed outrage over the Senator’s behaviour, saying that as a former governor and sitting senator, Oshiomole shouldn’t have acted that way.
Responding to the incident, the Air Peace Airline slammed the Senator, describing his behaviour as unruly. The airline said the current Senator representing the Edo North Senatorial district, Com. Adam Oshiomole, resorted to violence, physically assaulting the airline’s staff and forcefully barricading the terminal’s entrance after missing his flight.
According to the statement, the prominent politician (Oshiomole) arrived at the terminal building at approximately 06:10am for a flight scheduled to depart Lagos for Abuja at 06:30 am.
The airline said, “Air Peace strongly condemns the unruly conduct of a prominent Nigerian politician who disrupted airport operations on the morning of Wednesday, June 11, 2025.”
However, Senator Oshiomhole has denied allegations of disrupting Air Peace operations, insisting that he rejected preferential treatment and took a stand against what he described as systemic extortion and poor customer service by Nigerian airlines.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North in the Senate, described his recent experiences with Air Peace as symptomatic of a wider disregard for passengers’ rights in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Speaking with documented evidence and videos, the senator said he arrived at the airport at 6:10 p.m. on Tuesday for a 6:50 p.m. flight, only to be denied a boarding pass, even though he had met the airline’s 30-minute check-in deadline.
“I got to the airport 40 minutes early. My luggage had already been checked in, but they told me they had stopped issuing boarding passes. Meanwhile, I saw others allowed to board after me,” he said.
Despite holding business class tickets for himself and an aide, who was eventually allowed to board, Oshiomhole said he was turned away.
He lamented the arbitrary enforcement of airline policies, which left him with a hotel bill of N1.5 million to accommodate himself and two stranded Ghanaian passengers.
Attempting to fly with Air Peace the following morning, Oshiomhole said he arrived before 6:00 a.m. for a 6:30 a.m. flight, having checked in online the previous night at 7:46 p.m. However, he was again denied boarding, alongside other passengers, following a sudden change in the check-in policy from 30 minutes to 45 minutes before departure.
“I got there at about five minutes past six. They told me the counter had closed. I showed them evidence of my online check-in. Even after confirming I had no luggage, they still said boarding was closed—yet others were being allowed in,” he explained.
“So I asked, ‘How can you close boarding for a 6:30 flight at 6:05? What is the purpose of online check-in if it isn’t honoured?”
Oshiomhole cited the experience of another passenger, a woman with a baby, who had bought her ticket online for N146,000 and arrived at 5:55 a.m. but was told she was late. She was denied boarding and offered a seat on the next flight, available only after purchasing a new ticket for N250,000.
“This is not policy enforcement—it’s extortion,” he said.
Rejecting the airline’s claim that he disrupted operations, Oshiomhole said he remained calm but firm and only intervened after seeing women with babies and other passengers denied boarding despite meeting check-in requirements.
“I didn’t disrupt anything. I refused to let them ‘sort me out’ while others were stranded. They offered to help me once they recognised me, but I declined. I said, ‘Don’t help me—enforce my rights like every other Nigerian.’”
He condemned a “VIP culture of impunity,” where influential individuals are offered backdoor solutions while ordinary Nigerians suffer.
“That’s the real problem—big men get sorted, and others are ignored. If speaking out makes me a troublemaker, I’ll cause trouble forever.”
Oshiomhole described how security personnel, including DSS and Air Force officers, later intervened and offered the woman a seat on the next flight—but only after she paid N109,100 on top of her original fare, bringing the total to over N255,000 for a one-hour flight.
“I followed her to the counter. People around me urged me not to leave. I eventually had to send her N500,000 so that she could travel. Others in the same situation were stranded unless they could afford another ticket.”
“Even when an officer offered me access to a lounge, I stayed with the passengers. This isn’t just bad service; it’s institutionalized abuse of citizens.”
He criticised the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for its lax oversight and called on the federal government to act.
“How can you profit from your inefficiency? This is ruthless, primitive capitalism. Nigerians are unprotected, and the government must act.”
Oshiomhole warned that continued injustice and exploitation in essential services could lead to more profound public anger and unrest.
“When people lose hope, bullets won’t stop them. The least a government can do is to protect its citizens from exploitation.”
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