The Nigerian Police will on Monday charge Mr. Obiajulu Uja, the anti-Tinubu passenger aboard an Abuja-Lagos Ibom Air flight to court.
Lawyer to the protester, Ejike Ugwu, disclosed this while speaking with The PUNCH on Sunday.
He queried the decision to prosecute Uja, whom he said was mentally challenged.
Ugwu said, “The DPO said the man will be charged on Monday; this is a man that we said is mentally ill. Have you conducted any medical examination on him to know whether he is mentally fit to be charged to court? On what grounds are you charging?”
Recall that Uja had disrupted the Ibom Air flight with his solo-protest against the 2023 presidential election, announcing that the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, must never be sworn in on May 29.
He would later be forcefully be evacuated from the plane by no fewer than six airport security officers after he reportedly held the plane for more than an hour.
According to the lawyer, his client, a former bank worker in Lagos, from Enugu State, had been in Abuja for a few weeks.
“The man worked with Zenith Bank until he developed some health issues. Some days ago, Riz Continental Hotel, Abuja, chased him away from the hotel because of his mental instability,” the lawyer added.
He further stated that Uja bought three tickets on Friday for Lagos State, noting that on getting to the airport, he (Uja) had issues with almost all the airlines before he eventually boarded Ibom Air.
Ugwu said when he asked him what happened, “he told us that he wanted to market his products and that he was just trying to get the attention of the passengers when he raised the issue of Asiwaju will not be sworn in.”
“If you go through his social media, you will understand that he is not even a member of the Obedient movement. But the long and short of it is that the man is mentally unstable.
“After he was arrested and the DPO saw reports in the media, the DPO confided in me that the man is not a normal person.
“It’s just the system; I told the DPO that you do not even need a medical certificate from the family but as an investigator, employ the services of a psychiatrist to confirm the mental stability of the man. But as I speak with you, I left the police station around 5pm and we have not seen the DPO today in the station,” he added.
Speaking further, the lawyer said, “I told the DPO that this man needs medical attention immediately before the whole system will collapse.
“He has a kidney problem; if you see his legs you will see how swollen they are. You can only investigate someone that is alive.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on Saturday disclosed that the passenger had been handed over to the police.
The Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, FAAN, Mrs Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, disclosed this to The PUNCH in Abuja.
Earlier, Ibom Airlines apologised to passengers for the delay they experienced while the management tried to disembark the passenger.
The Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, Ibom Air, Aniekan Essienette, in a statement, noted that the airline quickly waded into the situation and caused the passenger to be forcefully disembarked as a last resort.
”The airport securities were the ones that evacuated him and once we hand him over to the aviation security, it becomes their problem. So, we would wait for them to get back to us if there are any further directives,” he noted.
