A FRENCHMAN has been deported from Nigeria after causing chaos at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The passenger, whose identity remains undisclosed, arrived on January 1 aboard an Air France flight but was denied entry because he failed to present a valid Nigerian visa.
The director of public affairs and consumer protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, on Friday, January 3, confirmed that a medical doctor examined the passenger.
He was sedated, and returned to France on an Air France flight to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, on Thursday night.
“Examined by a doctor and placed on a sedative, the unruly French national has finally boarded an Air France flight to CDG, Paris…
“I was physically present to witness his boarding at 10 pm tonight, along with the very capable terminal head, Miriam Anosike who did a yeoman’s job in this case, Ifueko Abdulmalik, and gallant men of the Nigeria Immigration Service.”
The Frenchman’s troubles reportedly began when he was refused entry into Nigeria and temporarily accommodated at a hotel within the airport after visits from French Embassy staff and a doctor.
However, his erratic behaviour persisted, disrupting airport activities and forcing multiple airlines to refuse to fly him.
He was consequently declined transport by British Airways and Asky Airlines, which cited his unruly behaviour.
On January 2, Asky Airlines further refused to board him after he failed to provide proof of payment for his ticket.
Achimugu also reported that Immigration officials faced significant challenges managing the passenger, who was seen littering the terminal with tissue paper and loudly demanding his passport.
Achimugu, in a post on X on Wednesday, January 1, described the passenger as disruptive, stating that he littered the terminal with tissue paper, shouted at officials, and demanded his passport.
According to him, immigration officials, who had withheld his passport to prevent him from illegally leaving the airport, faced challenges managing him.
“Today, he was supposed to depart via Asky but could not present evidence of payment for the e-‘ticket’ he presented. The airline declined to airlift him.
“Immigration officials had quite a hectic time handling the erratic passenger who can be seen littering our clean terminal with what seems to be tissue paper and screaming, “My passport, my passport.”
“Apparently, the Immigration officers wanted to ensure that he boarded his flight before handing the passenger his international passport to prevent him from escaping through the exit gate and into the city,” he said on Wednesday.
Providing an update on the incident, Achimugu added that the cabin crew was advised to have some of the sedatives administered to the passenger in case he displayed unruly behaviour during his deportation flight.
This development came barely two months after Nigeria began 24-hour operations of the Regular Migration Command and Control Centre, at the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Sauka, Abuja.
The centre, according to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who appeared on Politics Today on Channels Television, on November 11, 2024, would enable real-time monitoring of all international airports in the country, with plans to extend coverage to land and sea borders.
Tunji-Ojo stated that the centre which is located at the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Sauka, Abuja, went live for 24-hour operations following an induction programme held about two weeks ago.
He explained that the centre allows comprehensive oversight across international airports in Nigeria.
He further noted plans to integrate the system with Nigeria’s land and sea borders, which he said would further enhance its reach.
The ICIR also reports that the incident occurred two days after the Nigerian government approved the creation of mobile courts at the nation’s airports to try unruly passengers like the Frenchman.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M