By Kunle Sanni
Former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has accused Nigerian airline Air Peace of reselling already booked seats at inflated prices, sparking chaos at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1 in Lagos on Wednesday morning.
The incident, captured in a video circulating on social media, showed the senator engaged in a heated exchange with airport officials at the Zulu Hall terminal. Speaking to Vanguard newspaper, Oshiomhole said he and two visiting Ghanaians were denied boarding despite having checked in online for a 6:30 a.m. flight to Abuja.
“I arrived at the airport around 6:05 a.m. for a 6:30 flight. I had checked in online the day before and had no luggage. Yet, I was told the boarding gate had closed,” Oshiomhole said. “While I was being refused, I saw others being allowed in—and many were buying tickets at the counter for much higher prices.”
He alleged that Air Peace deliberately turned away passengers who had purchased tickets earlier at lower rates in order to sell last-minute tickets at inflated prices, reportedly between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000. He cited the case of a woman with an infant who, despite arriving before 6:00 a.m. with a ₦146,000 ticket, was also denied boarding.
Oshiomhole accused the airline of exploiting passengers and criticized regulatory agencies for failing to take action.
“This woman was told to pay an additional ₦109,100 to get on the next flight—making her total cost over ₦250,000 for a one-hour flight,” he said. “I had to transfer ₦500,000 to her on the spot. This level of extortion and mismanagement cannot be allowed to continue.”
He further described how security agents from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Air Force attempted to mediate the situation, but said the core issues remained unresolved, leaving several passengers stranded and frustrated.
Oshiomhole called for urgent action from aviation regulators, warning that such unchecked practices not only erode public trust in airlines but also fuel dissatisfaction with the government.