LAGOS — A scene of disruption unfolded at the Zulu Terminal of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on Wednesday morning, after Senator Adams Oshiomole missed his scheduled flight to Abuja.
Multiple sources at the airport confirmed that the former Edo State governor and current senator for Edo North arrived at the terminal well after the 6:30 a.m. departure time for his Air Peace flight. According to eyewitnesses, the senator appeared visibly frustrated upon learning that the airline would not accommodate him due to his late arrival.
In response, Oshiomole reportedly blocked the terminal entrance, preventing other passengers from accessing the facility. Staff members, including the terminal manager, attempted to de-escalate the situation, but sources claim the senator remained unmoved. The incident caused delays and stranded several passengers attempting to catch early morning flights.
The situation reportedly prompted the intervention of the airport’s regional management. A meeting was quickly convened to address the disruption and persuade the senator to allow normal operations to resume.
“It was quite tense,” said an airport source. “Passengers were stuck outside, and several flights were affected because the terminal entrance was blocked. The management had to intervene at a high level.”
Air Peace, the airline scheduled to fly Oshiomhole to Abuja, declined to board him, citing strict adherence to its check-in and departure policies.
“He missed the flight. That’s the bottom line,” a source familiar with the matter said. “He wanted the airline to delay departure, but they followed protocol.”
The Zulu Terminal, part of the GAT complex, is a key domestic aviation hub servicing destinations such as Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin, Ilorin, and others. It recently underwent a N2.2 billion expansion in 2023, quadrupling its capacity from 254 to 1,024 passengers.
When contacted, Ijeoma Blessing Nwosu-Igbo, General Manager of Public Affairs at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said she was not aware of the incident and noted that the MM2 terminal—also located at MMIA—is privately operated.
“I don’t work for MM2. I work for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and I’m not aware of this unless it was formally reported to us,” she said.
Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach representatives from Air Peace and airport authorities for further comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
