Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, has denied allegations by Air Peace that he assaulted staff members and disrupted flight operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Wednesday.
Air Peace had earlier accused the former Edo State governor of arriving late for Flight P47120, scheduled to depart Lagos for Abuja at 6:30 a.m., and of behaving in an unruly manner after being denied boarding.
The airline claimed Oshiomhole arrived at the Zulu Terminal by 6:10 a.m., after the boarding gate had closed, and allegedly blocked access to the terminal, causing operational delays.
But speaking in Abuja later in the day, Oshiomhole refuted the allegations, stating he arrived at the airport well before time and had already checked in online the previous night.
“I got to the airport around 5:05 a.m. for a 6:30 a.m. flight. My luggage had been checked in. I had done online check-in at 7:46 p.m. the previous night. But I was told the counter was closed,” Oshiomhole said.
The lawmaker said he refused to accept preferential treatment offered to him after staff recognised him.
“They wanted to ‘sort me out’ while others were being denied boarding. I said no. I told them to treat me like every other Nigerian. That’s the problem, we always want to bend rules for VIPs while others suffer,” he said.
Oshiomhole also alleged that while he was being denied access to the flight, other passengers who arrived after him were allowed to board, and new tickets were being sold at inflated prices.
He accused Air Peace staff of exploiting the situation by reselling tickets on the spot.
“People who had booked online for N146,000 were told they were late, while new tickets were being sold for N250,000. That is not enforcing policy—it’s extortion,” he said.
The senator also claimed the incident forced him and two other stranded passengers to incur hotel expenses amounting to N1.5 million.
He cited the case of another female passenger who, despite arriving before 6:00 a.m., was denied boarding and told the flight was full—only to witness others purchasing last-minute tickets and boarding.
Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, maintained that his only offence was standing up against injustice.
“If speaking out makes me a troublemaker, then I’ll cause trouble forever,” he declared.
