FACT CHECK: Was Peter Obi deported from UK as Fani-Kayode claimed?

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Femi Fani-Kayode on Wednesday posted on his Twitter handle @realFFK, stating that the Presidential Candidate of the Labour party in the last general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, was arrested, detained and deported back to Nigeria from the United Kingdom.

Fani-Kayode has been a vocal critic of Obi.

“Poor @PeterObi! Accosted, detained & deported back to Nigeria like a common criminal by the British authorities? Why didn’t you say ‘yes daddy’ to the immigration officer? Or better still why didn’t you call the little Englander or the little diva to put in a word for you,” Fani-Kayode tweeted.

The tweet has garnered over 500,000 views.

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Verification

Checks by Daily Trust has shown that Obi and his supporters fondly called ‘Obidients’ have been having running battle with the APC spokespersons.

Recall that Obi had filed a petition before a tribunal, challenging the process that led to the outcome of Tinubu’s victory. Since then, several allegations have been made by both parties against each other.

Daily Trust had reported that Obi was detained in London by immigration officials at Heathrow Airport in London, UK, over allegations of impersonation.

The LP campaign council, spokesman, Diran Onifade, in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed Obi’s detention.

Verdict

While it was true that Obi was detained and later released according to the statement, it was not true he was deported. Hence, Fani-Kayode’s claim of Obi’s deportation is false.

This Fact Check is produced in partnership with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)