Anti-Tinubu passenger remanded in prison pending mental health report

Anti-Tinubu passenger remanded in prison pending mental health report

A passenger who caused a commotion by expressing anti-Tinubu sentiments on a Lagos-bound Ibom Air flight has been remanded in the Kuje prison by a Magistrate Court in Abuja.

Anti-Tinubu passenger remanded in prison pending mental health report

The anti-Tinubu passenger, Obiajulu Ujah, will remain there for one month while medical experts assess his mental health. Ujah is currently facing a criminal charge in case number CR/08/23, filed by the Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Magistrate Abdulazeel Ismail Muhammed of the FCT Magistrate Court ruled on Thursday in Zuba Magisterial District. “Having scrutinized the medical report dated 17th day of April 2023 and signed by Dr Olusegun Shoyombo, a consultant psychiatrist, I am of the opinion that the defendant cannot defend himself,” he said. Muhammed utilized Section 278(3) & (4) of the ACJA, 2015 due to the urgent need for medical attention. The section states that if the court is unconvinced of the defendant’s ability to defend themselves, the trial will be postponed, and the individual may be remanded for a maximum of one month. During this remand, a medical officer will oversee the defendant and provide a written assessment of their mental state before the end of the period. If the medical officer is unable to form a definite opinion, they will inform the court and request a further remand of up to three months. “From all these, the need to prevent the risk of jumping treatment and having found that Kuje Correctional Facility has the requisite medical personnel, I hereby order that the defendant be remanded for medical observation for one month,” Muhammed said. According to the magistrate, the Federal Government of Nigeria will bear the cost of the necessary medical treatment for the defendant, as provided by the medical personnel.

Anti-Tinubu flight passenger is mentally ill — Lawyer clarifies

Anti-Tinubu flight passenger is mentally ill — Lawyer clarifies

Anti-Tinubu flight passenger is mentally ill — Lawyer clarifies

Anti-Tinubu man, Mr Obiajulu Uja, who was booted out of an aircraft by security personnel at Abuja Airport on Friday has been identified as mentally ill.

Anti-Tinubu flight passenger is mentally ill — Lawyer clarifies

His lawyer, Barr. Ejike Ugwu stated that Obiajulu is mentally ill and was earlier chased out of a hotel in Abuja before booking a flight to Lagos from three airlines. According to Ugwu, despite his condition, the police have yet to offer medical assistance when he visited the suspect at the Airport Police Division. “Obiajulu is not in the right state of mind; before he boarded the flight, he was chased away from a hotel in Abuja because of his mental state. “He even booked three different flights for the Lagos trip. He booked Aero, Dana and Ibom Air. He had the three tickets for the same trip. So, there is no doubt that he is mentally challenged,” Ugwu said. The lawyer stated that every effort made to make the police see reasons to allow the anti-Tinubu suspect access to medical care had proved abortive. “As I speak to you, both the IPO handling the case and the DPO of the Police Division are nowhere to be found. And the suspect’s legs are all swollen now because of the several beatings he received at the Airport. He is critically sick right now.

Anti-Tinubu flight passenger is mentally ill — Lawyer clarifies

“All I am asking for is that he should at least be taken to the police clinic. I have also made efforts to reach the Force PRO but he did not take my calls,” he added.

Why we kicked anti-Tinubu passenger off aircraft — Ibom Air

Why we kicked anti-Tinubu passenger off aircraft — Ibom Air

Nigerian airline, Ibom Air clarifies the reason an anti-Tinubu passenger was booted out of its Abuja-Lagos flight on Friday.

Why we kicked anti-Tinubu passenger off aircraft — Ibom Air

The passenger, who identified himself as a member of the Obidient political movement, made remarks about the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He further accused other passengers of not doing enough to prevent the inauguration of the President-elect. The airline stated that the anti-Tinubu passenger’s behaviour was unsafe to other passengers, hence, swift action from its security team, along with Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) personnel.

Why we kicked anti-Tinubu passenger off aircraft — Ibom Air

Providing an insight into the incident, Ibom Air in a statement by Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, Aniekan Essienette, said the team had to forcefully boot him out. She said, “We wish to inform the public about an incident on our 6 pm flight from Abuja to Lagos on Friday, 31 March 2023. “A passenger stood up and began addressing other passengers in a manner considered inappropriate and unruly, as he was making other passengers nervous. “Our crew deemed his continuous unruly behavior unsafe and called on airport security to help with the situation. Upon his refusal to stop or disembark peacefully, the security operatives were left with no choice but to forcefully disembark the passenger as a last option. “We are aware that several videos and reports of this incident are circulating on social media and wish to provide the right perspective. “Ibom Air wishes to assure our passengers that we maintain very high safety and service standards and will never compromise the safety and security of our passengers. “We apologize to the affected passengers for the time it took to disembark this passenger, which caused an otherwise on-time departure to be delayed by an hour.”