The United Kingdom (UK) Government has responded to the letter written by Premium Time requesting the details of the arrest and detention of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
OsunDaily News had earlier reported that the UK immigration officials at Heathrow Airport in London detained Obi.
The UK immigration office, however, declined providing sufficient details about Obi’s ordeal as requested by the newspaper in its reply through the Home Office.
In a short reply on Thursday the UK government said they do not comment on individual’s cases.
“We do not comment on individual cases,” Chloe Newman, senior communications officer – Newsdesk Communications Directorate, stated in the reply on Thursday.
Bothered about several unsubstantiated claims on social media over the issue, this newspaper wrote to the UK Home Office on 13 April, seeking to understand the circumstances surrounding Obi’s ordeals in the European country during Easter for accurate reporting.
The Obi-Datti Media, in a statement on Wednesday by its Head, Diran Onifade, said Obi was detained in London by UK immigration officials over alleged impersonation.
The statement did not, however, contain details of Obi’s arrest and his subsequent release before returning to the country.
Specifically, neither the UK government nor the LP, in its statement, gave clarification on Obi’s offences, when and how he was released, the conditions upon which he was released, the current status of the case against him and other related issues.
More so, while the party claimed in its statement issued on Wednesday that Obi was arrested over alleged impersonation, it failed to state the offences committed by the impersonator for which the former Anambra governor was “arrested”, “harassed” and eventually “detained” before he was released.
It also remains unclear if Obi was deported and if he still possesses a valid UK access visa at the moment following his last week’s ordeal in London.
A similar enquiry was also forwarded to Onifade but he has yet to respond at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the LP has denied media reports that the UK government had apologised to Obi over his “arrest”, “detention” and “harassment” at the London airport as claimed by his party in the statement, and the LP flag bearer has yet to speak on his ordeal in London.
