THE NATION
Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has raised concerns about the trustworthiness of presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Fani-Kayode, in a series of tweets yesterday, said Obi cannot be trusted until he tells Nigerians why he was detained by the British immigration officers at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom during Easter.
The spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council said ‘Obi must clarify if he violated British laws, either knowingly or unknowingly, during his detention’.
He tweeted: “Until Peter Obi tells us what happened to him at Heathrow Airport, and why he was accosted and detained by British immigration officials over Easter, he cannot be trusted or taken seriously. His claim that he never ‘knowingly’ broke the law speaks volumes and suggests that he broke it ‘unknowingly’.
“Sadly for him, not knowing that you broke the law when you actually broke it is no defence and, in any case, there are some crimes that are known as ‘strict liability offences’ which do not even need any premeditation.
“Whichever way, if Peter violated the law in any shape or form, knowingly or unknowingly, he is in trouble and he will have a case to answer.”
But Peter Obi has said he didn’t violate any law in relation to his alleged detention by the UK Immigration Service.
In a statement via his verified Twitter handle, Obi said he has lived all his life in the most law-abiding manner, and he will ‘never knowingly break any law’.
According to Obi, though humans are bound to make mistakes, he will ‘never knowingly break any law’, adding that he is not ‘afraid of the lies and propaganda against my person’.
He said: “There may be more mudslinging from those who are against the emergence of a New Nigeria, but I would never be deterred by the obstacles along the way to victory. I have always lived my life in the most law-abiding manner.
“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.”