Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former Edo State Governor and current senator representing Edo North, has spoken out about a controversial incident involving Air Peace at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, on Wednesday morning.
In a detailed account shared with Vanguard, Oshiomhole explained that despite checking in online for a 6:30 a.m. flight to Abuja, he and several other passengers were denied boarding. A video of the incident, which surfaced online, showed the senator in a heated exchange with airline officials.
According to him, the airline shut its boarding gates prematurely—as early as 6:05 a.m.—while allegedly reselling the same seats to walk-in customers willing to pay inflated, last-minute prices ranging from ₦200,000 to ₦300,000. Oshiomhole described the scenario as exploitative and said it left many passengers stranded, including a woman with a 6-month-old baby who had arrived early and checked in online.
“I showed them the evidence of my online check-in. They still said the gate had closed, but were allowing others in—clearly those paying more on the spot,” Oshiomhole said.
He accused Air Peace of manipulating boarding procedures to cash in on desperate travelers, noting that some passengers who had bought tickets for as low as ₦146,000 online were told to purchase new ones at over ₦100,000 extra for the next available flight.
The senator said that when security personnel intervened, including officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Air Force, they offered to put him and others on a later flight, but still at additional cost.
In a notable gesture, Oshiomhole revealed he transferred ₦500,000 to the woman with the baby to help her cover the inflated fare and related costs.
“You can’t deny people who followed procedures just to maximize profit. If this continues, the public will keep blaming the government when it’s actually a regulatory failure,” he added.