"Some Carry Dr*gs, Weapons, Dollars": Ethiopian Airlines Speaks on Alleged Mistreatment of Nigerians
- Ethiopian Airlines met with Ambassadors from Nigeria and seven other African countries to discuss why passengers are detained
- The airline said the claim that Nigerians travelling through Bole airport hub are unfairly treated and unfairly detained is not true
- It said only those who were found wanting for dr*gs-related offences or breaking the law were held by authorities
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Mesfin Tasew stated that the airline's senior management team has met with the ambassadors of Nigeria, Ghana, and six other African nations.
The move is to resolve the reported delays and detention of some passengers at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia.
Tasew's remarks were made in light of recent allegations that Ethiopian police and immigration authorities had mistreated Nigerian nationals, according to a Punch report.
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Only those found wanting are delayed
The CEO noted that only passengers who do not adhere to the necessary international security standards are delayed or occasionally detained for regular police and immigration procedures.
He said this while refuting the claims that Nigerians travelling through the Bole airport hub are unfairly treated and unfairly detained by the police and immigration authorities.
According to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, around 270 Nigerians are imprisoned in Ethiopia for a variety of charges, with the majority having committed dr*g-related offences.
The MFA was responding to a recent social media video that went viral and featured Dr. Paul Ezike discussing the purported mistreatment of Nigerian prisoners in Ethiopia's Kaliti Prison.
Nonetheless, the GCEO of Ethiopian Airlines stated that the airline was working to resolve the matter in a recent conversation with reporters in Addis Ababa.
According to him, this resulted in a recent meeting in Addis Ababa with the ambassadors of about eight African nations.
Approximately eight West African ambassadors, according to Tasew, were summoned to his office and voiced their concerns.
He went on to say that although the airline does not want any travellers to have any difficulties when they go via Addis Ababa airport, there are some circumstances beyond its control.
The head of Africa's largest carrier bemoaned the state of affairs even further and revealed that research had shown that certain travellers using the Bole airport hub frequently carried more cash or precious metals than was permitted by Ethiopian law.
He said:
“Some passengers are found carrying dr*gs. If they are found carrying dr*gs, definitely they are not allowed to continue their flight. The security people will take them under custody.
If they are found carrying weapons without permission, they do the same thing until they investigate and see that it is an approved weapon, and so on. So, some passengers, when they are found to be non-compliant, can go under the custody of police.
“The second problem that we witness is that some people carry a lot of money on paper, a lot of dollars, or valuables like gold in large size or dollars for example in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions; over a million dollars are carried in their bags.”
“If they are transiting without coming to Addis, the security people don’t touch them. They can carry the money because it’s their money, they are not coming to the country. However, for some reason, if they want tospends a day or a night to get their connection and they have to come out to the hotel, the national regulation says that all passengers carrying over $10, 000 or its equivalent or in gold oranother ornaments, have to declare it at the Customs section on arrival.
He said that with failure to declare the assets, the government assumed such passengers were collaborating with some Ethiopians to take such hard currencies out of the country and confiscate the money.
Meanwhile, the development follows an earlier report that revealed how the immediate past administration was exposed for its schemes in floating the operation of Nigerian Air.
Ethiopian Airlines Removes Nigeria Air Painting from Aircraft, Resumes Carrying Passengers, Live Tracker Shows
Ethiopian Airlines has removed the Nigeria Air painting from the aircraft that was initially unveiled as part of Nigeria Air's fleet, Legit.ng reported.
According to a live tracker, Ethiopian Airlines is now using the same aircraft for its regular operations.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, which has registration Number ET-APL, Mode S Q4005C, and serial number 40965/4075, was repainted and rebranded to represent Nigeria Air at the request of Nigeria's Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
Source: Legit.ng
