Dear Editor,
Airpeace humiliated me, and destroyed my business and contract. I flew into Nigeria from Michigan USA to have a meeting with Anambra State govt.
I was rushing to Awka the same day. 2pm flight I booked with Arik air was delayed until 5pm. I never want to enter
Enugu at night, so I decided to try Air peace. At the counter, they told me their next flight was 3:30 pm, I immediately went back to Arik and demanded for my refund and luggage.
They gave full refund and my bags. I rushed to air peace added extra 5,000 naira to purchase their ticket to Enugu and checked in. I was there untill 4:30pm, the only thing they announced was 30 mins delay. When I heard that arik was still leaving at 5pm, I went to the counter to inquire what actually was going on but one one was there.
I went to meet the airport security. They pointed one of their rep. As I approached her, she yelled at me to let her be, that when the plane get here, we will see it. Some other passengers were very angry too.
I tried everything possible to get my laugages and my refund and stay at a nearby hotel untill the next morning, all to no avail. I was disappointed, disgusted, stressed and sick. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me.
I went to airport security again to ask them for assistance to retrieve my languages. But they are scared to say anything. I started making a video with my IPad telling my fans what I have been going through since I arrived Nigeria at 9am that morning. How air peace dis respects and treat people like animals, not respecting their time, their need and urgency to travel. That air peace use one plane to run the whole state, not minding their lies to passengers on flight time.
Air peace reps and some other men rallied around me. Requesting for my I pad. On the process of struggling with it, I hit the table and the table shifted back. They insisted that I must delete all the videos I made with my iPad. I refused to be intimated.
I insisted I want to call my lawyer, but my phone was out, and I have no number off beart. (then I realized the importance of diary to save contacts)
They came up with false allegation that I broke their computer when I hit the table. I know that the table shifted but did not hear any item fall. I ignored them. I was only crying because I was scared and worried about my laugages and my safety knowing the security in Nigeria. When they realized that I wasn’t giving up my ipad, they arrested me. Onyema (CEO AIR PEACE) called back and was shouting at them to make sure that they retrieve the video from my ipad and delete them, or he will deal with all of them.
The guy put his yelling on the speaker so that others will hear his instructions. He sent some airport police to come and arrest me. They took me to their station around 11pm. We are not talking about the flight or my laugages any more, All they want was my ipad. At the station, they alleged that I break their computer, that I must be locked up untill their engineers come in the morning to check the computer. I did not say anything, I was crying bitterly.
My phone was dead, I couldn’t communicate my husband or any body. One of the police offices gave me his phone, I called my husband in USA. He called one of his Asstant commissioner of police, friends, who spoke to the IPO. Who lied to him that I break Air peace computer and Onyema was not happy about it and requested I should be detained untill tomorrow morning.
After their discussion, the Assistant CP asked him to give me phone, he told me to give them my ipad as collateral, then come back in the morning. That once the computer is confirmed good, I will get my ipad back. My husband sent a lawyer to bail me but i refused to give up my ipad. They forcefully took ipad from me and went away. They eventually took my Ipad. I left the station at about 1.40 am. I was heart broken. I missed the meeting that brought me to Nigeria. When I got to the police station in morning, they gave me back my ipad and told me their computer was not damaged. They gave me my 3 languages, my ipad and refunded my ticket.
I did not know that they break my security code on my ipad and deleted everything saved in my ipad untill I got to Onitsha. All my memories and projects was deleted from my ipad. I called my lawyer and the ACP to report the incident. Because they assured me that no body will break my passcode to delete anything from my ipad.
I asked my lawyer to sue Onyema and Air peace. He said that it will not be fruitful since I don’t live in Nigeria. That it will be a waste of time and resources.
I swallowed my pain. The whole incident was like a night mare to me.
Onyema is a wicked businesses man. What he was doing then was to use one flight to book all states. They have no conscience, once you book their flight, you are on your own. The same plane will flew to Asaba, pick up passengers to Owerri, back to Lagos, pick up passengers to PH then pick passengers from PH to Kaduna, then pick passengers from Kaduna to Lagos, then pick passengers from Lagos to Uyo. Then Uyo to Benin then Benin to Lagos. The only thing they chang is fake flight numbers. Same flight do all the runs.
They will hijacked your languages to tie you down untill it gets to your turn. And they will not refund your ticket even though it’s their fault that you did nit travel. They will ask you to use your ticket another time. I took local flight for fast and easy journey. But not with Nigerian local flight. Especially air peace. You will spend your entire day at the airport without apology or a bottle of water. That morning when I got my languages and my ipad back, I went straight to motor park and took a Toyota Siena for 50k and was at Onitsha at 1.20pm.
Aviation ministry infact Nigerian judiciary should do something about those airline operarors.
Princess Kennedy Okaka.
