By Muhammad Bashir Shuaib

Claim

A Facebook user claimed a UK resident was not mentally fit on his way back to the UK from Nigeria.

Verdict

False

Full text

A Facebook user named “Alhaj Adeyemi Ola adua Oloffa 1” uploaded a video of a man at the arrival point at an airport and claimed the man lost his Sanity on his way back. In his post, he said: “This young man, he came to Nigeria from the UK for the Christmas holiday. Unfortunately at Airport on his way back to the UK, happened to him with trace mental illness at Airport,”
“Please fans, let’s share this video till we locate its relative.”

The claim has also been seen circulating across social media, including multiple forwards and shares on WhatsApp

WhatsApp share

Verification

Confidence News Ng ran an investigation on this claim using an advanced keyword search on Facebook and X and found the claim to be entirely false.

According to credible sources, including the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, the incident involved an unruly French citizen who was deboarded by Air France at the Abuja Airport on New Year’s Day.

Achimugu disclosed that the unnamed foreign national disrupted multiple flights, prompting security personnel to remove him from the aircraft and restrict his access to the boarding area. The passenger, who arrived in Abuja without a valid Nigerian visa, was denied entry into the country.

Contrary to the claim that the individual “turned mad,” Achimugu explained that the passenger’s erratic behaviour continued even after being accommodated in a hotel within the airport terminal. Air France and British Airways both refused to airlift him due to his disruptive conduct and failure to provide proof of payment for his ticket.

The incident was further complicated by the passenger’s lack of a valid Nigerian visa, which prevented him from entering the country. Immigration officials faced significant challenges handling the erratic passenger, who was seen littering the airport terminal with tissue paper while shouting, “My passport, my passport.”

Conclusion

The claim that a UK resident displayed mental insanity at the airport on his way back to the UK from Nigeria has been investigated and it is completely false.