NIGERIA: Air Peace Fires Back At Oshiomhole, Debunks Extortion Claim

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

Air Peace has vehemently refuted Senator Adams Oshiomole’s allegations that the airline extorted passengers at Murtala Muhammed Airport.

In a press release issued today, the airline challenged the senator to provide proof of these claims, stating none of its staff confiscated cash from travellers or delayed overbooked flights.

The statement, signed by Air Peace management, emphasises that no tickets were sold post-check-in closure, that the flight departed with over 30 empty seats, and that prioritising punctual service rather than filling every seat aligns with their policies .

Air Peace also rejected accusations that Oshiomhole was fighting for other passengers or seeking preferential treatment. Instead, it alleged that the senator, arriving late, disrupted operations by climbing onto baggage conveyors, barricading the terminal entrance, instigating others, and using “violent, unbecoming, unfortunate and shameful” conduct.

The airline has urged Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, to release CCTV footage to clarify the sequence of events.

In his own press conference on June 11, Oshiomhole countered, denying any violent or disruptive conduct. Rather, he said he acted in solidarity with passengers facing what he described as systemic extortion by Air Peace.

The senator said he arrived at the airport well before the 30-minute check-in cutoff, yet was denied boarding despite having an online-checked ticket.

He alleges seeing airline staff turn away online-booked passengers and resell seats at inflated fares—up to N250,000 for a domestic flight originally bought at N146,000.

“This is not enforcement of policy — it’s organised extortion,” Oshiomhole declared, citing examples such as a mother with an infant denied boarding and forced to repurchase a seat for a second time at a much higher price.

He insisted he neither assaulted staff nor tore down barricades.

Instead, he said, he remained calm and refused VIP treatment, choosing to stay with stranded passengers, eventually even helping a woman with a baby by covering her escalated ticket fees.

Oshiomhole also challenged Nigeria’s aviation regulator Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to investigate the matter, calling it emblematic of broader failures in consumer protection.