Davido Misses Flight To London Over Bribe Request By Immigration, Read NIS Response

Nigerian musician David Adeleke aka Davido recently told fans on Instagram that he missed his flight to London because Immigration officers at Murtala Mohammed International Airport refused him departure because he didn’t give them bribe.
Read what he wrote on Instagram:



Nigeria Immigration Service spokesperson, Chukwuemeka Obua has responded.
A PR obtained in Abuja on Sunday reads:

“The attention of the Comptroller General (CG) of Nigerian Immigration Service has been drawn to an incident that occurred on Thursday 8th May, 2014 between officers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja and a Nigerian musician named Mr. David Adedeji Adeleke (a. k. a. Davido) (here -in – after referred to as Mr. Adeleke).
“Mr. Adeleke had approached Immigration Officers at MMIA on the fateful day with the intention of travelling out of the country and presented a US passport # 460918874 issued at Georgia on 14 December, 2009 and valid till 14th December, 2019. The officer that attended to him drew his attention to the fact that his US passport had no Nigerian visa on it with which he would have been admitted into the country. He responded that he had a Nigerian passport, but forgot it at home. The officer now informed him that he should go and bring the Nigerian passport to convince him that he did not enter Nigeria illegally with a foreign passport without visa. Mr. Adeleke started arguing with the officer who had to refer the case to his superiors. The verdict here too was that he can not make the trip unless he produces the said Nigerian passport. Livid with anger, Mr. Adeleke in company of his bodyguards, started protesting in a disorderly manner prompting the Comptroller of Immigration in-charge at MMIA to intervene. He advised Mr. Adeleke to call his bodyguards to order and comply with the lawful instruction which would not only erase any doubt as to his immigration status, but also establish his claim to dual citizenship.
“Mr. Adeleke left and on the following day, being Friday 9th May, 2014, produced his Nigerian e-passport # A02227477 issued at Abuja on 13th August, 2010 and valid till 12th August, 2015. This passport was endorsed/stamped and he then proceeded on his trip.
“However, Mr. Adeleke had posted a damning and defamatory message on Instagram, a social media outlet, where he alleged that officers at MMIA refused him departure because he refused to bribe them. This behaviour of Mr. Adeleke is quiet unfortunate. One would ordinarily have expected some form of commendation from him for the professional manner the officers who attended to him conducted themselves, especially in saving him from imminent embarrassment at some international ports of entry by ensuring that his passport is endorsed, as is the law and practice in Nigeria.
“The intention of this release is not to join issues with Mr. Adeleke, but to set the facts of the incident, as it happened at MMIA on the said day straight. The CG wishes to use this medium to appeal to Nigerians to exercise patience and cooperate with officers at their duty posts, so as to be of better service to them. The CG will also advise Nigerians not to encourage or indulge, but to report promptly any officer who, by words or deeds, happens to be seeking gratification before performing his/her lawful duty. All officers in uniform wear/carry name tags (and at the airports, special duty cards) by which they can be identified.”