By Uche Amunike
The Presidential candidate of Labour Party in the February 25th general election in Nigeria, Mr. Peter Obi, has finally made a statement, Tuesday, concerning his arrest and subsequent detention by the UK immigration officials at Heathrow Airport, two weeks ago.
He has said that he would never ‘knowingly break the law’ and will continue to be committed to challenging the outcome of the February 25th election outcome.
He made this comment for the first time since his ordeal at the airport, through a series of tweets posted by him on his official Twitter account, Tuesday.
He tweeted: ‘Sometimes as humans, we make mistakes. But I will never knowingly break any law. I am therefore not afraid of the lies and propaganda against my person. They are part of the journey to a new Nigeria.’
He also tweeted: ‘There may be more mudslinging from those who are against the emergence of the new Nigeria. But I would never be deterred by the obstacles along the way to victory. I have always lived my life in the in the most law abiding manner. They are part of the journey to a new Nigeria.’
Recall that Mr. Peter Obi was intercepted by immigration officials on April 7, Good Friday, and detained at the Heathrow airport. The reason behind his arrest has still remained unclear, even though the Labour Party claimed it was for alleged impersonation.
A statement released by the head of the Obi-Datti Media, Diran Onifade, did not give details of Peter Obi’s arrest and his eventual release before returning to Nigeria, but it stated that the former governor of Anambra State was questioned for a long time which was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country.
Till date, both the Labour Party and the UK government are yet to give a detailed explanation on Peter Obi’s offenses, when and how he was released, the conditions that were given for his release and the present status of the case against him and other related issues.
The details of Peter Obi’s ordeal in London are still not very clear and getting the UK government through its Home Office, to give clarifications, have not been successful.
There has been unverified claims that Obi was deported from the UK after allegedly going against the laws of the British government. However, it is still very unclear if he still owns a valid UK visa at the moment.
Peter Obi, in the tweets he posted on Tuesday, reiterated that he was committed to challenging the outcome of the February 25th general election, while advising supporters of the Labour Party so continue to stay calm and steadfast in the journey of reclaiming their mandate for a new Nigeria.
His words: ‘I will never give up on this victory until victory is achieved.’
He further stated that he never expected the journey of a ‘New Nigeria’ to be a smooth one, adding that the forces who had lived off the old order over the years are bound to fight back like they are doing now.
He further tweeted: ‘If they come to us through land, air and sea, we will respond to them through land, air and sea but we will remain law abiding and we will never give up on the nation. We are on the right path and we will remain committed to the course.’
He promised to lift Nigerians out of poverty and stated his target was to transform the country from the north to every part of the nation.
