Mrs Nneka Ogbona, who was falsely accused in 2019 of attempting to hijack a plane and was subjected to years of assault and litigation over a frivolous charge, has been granted asylum in Canada. Her ordeal was documented in an Investigative report by West Africa Weekly’s David Hundeyin in November 2023.
Her asylum, whose approval was aided by the investigation, was so that Mrs Ogbonna could escape plans by Airpeace management to incarcerate her.
Mrs Ogbonna and her husband have been embroiled in a legal battle with Airpeace’s management since their ordeal started in 2019.
Hundeyin’s investigation exposes poor regulation in the aviation sector, deliberate data tampering, falsification of documents, and framing by Airpeace Airline, which Nigerian billionaire Allen Onyema owns.
The couple have not been living a normal life since 2019, as they strive to escape and, at the same time, fight against an oppressive system and powerful business desperate to crush them.
Five years later, Mrs Ogbonna’s request for asylum has now been granted by a Canadian court. WAW’s investigation was quoted in the court judgment.
Announcing the approval of asylum, Mr Ogbonna wrote on X, “Do you remember my wife, Nneka, who was falsely accused of attempting to hijack @flyairpeace aircraft in 2019? Well, she has been granted asylum and full protection!
“She is on her way to start life as a citizen of a country where human rights are respected, human life is valued, and a pilot of Captain Horace Millar-Jaja’s calibre does not announce over an aircraft public address system that a female pax sitting in her seat has hijacked an aircraft.
“More importantly, she is now FOREVER out of the reach of those who planned to incarcerate her in a Nigerian prison for a fictitious criminal offence!
“It has taken five gruelling years, but victory is finally here, and the forces of good prevailed over evil! It was sad to see the painful decisions made about our home country, Nigeria, but everyone in authority who either stayed silent or was actively complicit in forcing us down this road is responsible.”
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