A Nigerian medical student returning to school in
Ukraine tells the story of how he nearly died at the
hands of Egypt Air officials who wrongly routed him
to Moldova, never gave him food for days and called
him bloody Nigerian before deporting him back to
Lagos
We serve you the story as written by JOSHUA
KUNLE ABDUL-AZEEZ, the student who is lucky to
be alive and whose ordeal should interest Nigerians.
On Friday, August 15, 2014 my mother and I went to
Egypt Air head office at 22B Idowu Taylor Street,
Victoria Island, Lagos to book a return ticket for me
to go back to school to continue my studies at
Dnepropetrovsk Medical Academy, Dnepropetrovsk
Ukraine. This was about 11:15 am.
On entering the Egypt air office we met Mr. Tony
Nzan on counter 1 to attend to us and we asked to
book a ticket to Kiev, Ukraine. Mr. Tony Nzan
explained to us the itinerary for the flight going to
Ukraine after which we went to the bank to withdraw
money and returned to pay for the ticket and
obtained two printouts, so that my mother could have
my return itinerary from Kiev next year.
We reviewed the ticket itinerary before leaving
Egypt air’s office and immediately observed that the
airport code indicated on it was different from what
we were familiar with, having traveled to Kiev
before. The ticket indicated an unfamiliar airport
code.
We immediately brought this discovery to another
ticketing officer’s attention who was seated at
Counter 2, as we were informed that his colleague,
Mr. Nzan, had stepped out of the office. This
ticketing officer restated that the ticket was full
economy and for Kiev, Ukraine with all the segments
confirmed. However, we remained unconvinced, given
that our prior experience indicated that the airport
code for Kiev, Ukraine would usually read “KBP”.
On my scheduled date of departure (18th August,
2014) my mother and I arrived for check-in at
10.30am. Given our apprehension, we once again
mentioned our concern to the agent at the check-in
counter and requested that she reconfirm the final
travel destination indicated on my ticket. She
confirmed that the ticket indicated “KIV” and was
bound for Kiev, Ukraine. My mother then told her it
should read Borispol International Airport KBP not
KIV or Chisinahu as was indicated on the ticket.
Given our insistence over this and the fact that
there was now a queue building up behind us she called
her supervisor, one Mr Lucas to check the ticket.
He asked us what the matter was and we explained to
him that we believed the routing on my ticket was
wrong. We also told him we had complained about this,
the day the ticket was purchased but that we were
repeatedly told that the routing was to Kiev.
We also mentioned to him that we went back to Egypt
Air’s Victoria Island office on Saturday morning (16th
August ) still very concerned about the ticket. The
place was closed for business. My mum then asked
that I show Mr. Lucas and his colleague my residence
and study permits for Ukraine and reaffirm my
intended destination to be Kiev in Ukraine and not
the place indicated on the ticket, which appeared to
be “Chisinahu.”
Mr. Lucas proceeded to telephone Mr. Tony who
issued the ticket to reconfirm routing but Mr. Tony
insisted that the code (KIV) was Egypt air’s code for
Ukraine.
Mr. Tony also became nonchalant and abusive and said
that my mother “was just being troublesome”. My
mother then directed that I get the boarding passes
which had earlier been printed for me since they
were insisting it was Egypt Air’s code for Ukraine
and that they were representatives of the airline.
She warned Mr. Lucas that for the airline’s sake, she
hoped that they were right and we were wrong. I
checked in my two suit cases with a total weight of
47.5kg and went to the departure gate and boarded
the flight.
I arrived Cairo shortly after 10pm same day and was
compelled to remain in the transit area for 14 hours,
without feeding. No accommodation was provided by
the airline. I presented myself for boarding at the
boarding gate at 9am the following morning (August
19th) and was the third passenger on queue for
boarding to Istanbul. When it was my turn, the
Egypt air boarding staff insisted that I present my
Ukrainian visa before processing my boarding pass.
She did not ask same of the passengers ahead of me.
I explained that I had a permit because I school
there and presented the permit stamp on my
passport, whilst explaining that the document was in
my hand luggage. Still, she insisted that I moved
aside and present the original document. I then
retrieved it from the luggage.
Having seen my permit, the staff still refused to
allow me through and insisted I remain at the corner
I was in. I complied and watched closely to see if she
would follow the same procedure for all other
passengers boarding, but to my surprise, not once did
she do so. I remained there until everyone else had
boarded before she came round to scrutinise the
original permit and eventually allowed me to board
the flight. We departed Cairo for Istanbul at
10.50am.
We arrived at Istanbul at 2pm on 19th August and I
was again compelled to remain in transit for another
17 hours, without accommodation, food or water. At
7am on 20th August, I boarded the flight in Istanbul,
expecting to arrive Ukraine at 6am local time. Once
onboard the flight, I slept off due to fatigue and
hunger – having been deprived of good sleep and food
for 2 days at the time. When I woke up, the flight
hostesses had already served refreshment and passed
me by. I then requested for my meal but was told it
was too late to be served.
Once we landed, believing I was in Ukraine, I
proceeded to immigration and presented my travel
documents. The immigration officer asked that I wait
at his desk, left and then returned with a local police
officer. Both officers then explained to me in
Russian language that I was not in Ukraine but in
Moldova (a distinct country) and that the best they
could do was to send me back to Istanbul, where I
could then buy a new ticket to Kiev.
My passport was then handed over to the pilot of the
next flight to Istanbul and I was given my baggage
tags for my two suit cases that had by now been
placed in the main cabin of the plane.
When I boarded the plane and sat on seat (23E)
assigned to me, a male member of the cabin crew
ordered me to stand up, sent me to the back of the
plane and told me not to move. Another member of
the cabin crew sat with me for the entire duration of
the flight. I felt so degraded at being treated like a
criminal. I was given neither food nor drink
throughout the flight back to Istanbul. This was now
my third day without food or water. I had now
developed a cough and my gums were all swollen.
We arrived at Istanbul and I was immediately taken
to the deportation office, where my passport was
handed to the officer on duty. The officer
interrogated me on what happened and I explained to
him how the airline had ticketed me to a wrong
destination. I asked if I could be allowed to buy a
ticket to Ukraine from there (with my school fees in
my possession), which was my intended destination all
along.
The officer agreed to my purchasing a new ticket to
Kiev and I was placed in a room for over four hours.
After two hours of not knowing what was going on or
what was being done with my documents, I requested
to use the toilet, in the hope that I would find a cell
phone to borrow and call my family to inform them of
what was happening, but the officer posted outside
the room refused and ordered me to sit down.
I continued asking to use the toilet for over 10
minutes until she finally allowed me to go and answer
the call of nature. I eventually found a telephone and
then called my elder sister in Nigeria, explained the
situation to her and asked her to inform my mother.
Once my mother was informed, she contacted my
university and her Ukrainian liaison agent in Kiev and
requested that they assist by purchasing a ticket on
my behalf for Kiev, which would enable me to leave
for Ukraine from Istanbul.
The ticket was swiftly purchased and I was
forwarded the “PNR number” by phone. I then
proceeded to Egypt air’s transit desk and explained
what had happened. I gave the lady on duty the PNR
number for new ticket and requested her to assist
me check-in for the flight to Ukraine. She refused to
entertain my explanation and told me they would send
me back to Nigeria, no matter what I did.
Another Egypt airline official joined us and to my
utter shock and dismay, picked up my passport and
tore it, saying “these bloody Nigerians”. I looked at
the man expecting an apology, but got none. He
ordered me to stand up, saying that I was getting on
a flight to Cairo.
At about 6pm I was taken to the boarding gate for
the flight to Cairo and my documents were handed
over to the cabin crew. I was once again treated like
a criminal and taken to the back of the plane. A cabin
crew member gave me some water and handed me only
one baggage tag and informed me that one had gotten
missing.
I arrived Cairo at 8pm on 20thAugust 2014. My
documents were again passed from the cabin crew of
the Egypt Air flight I arrived with to another Egypt
air ground official. Yet again, I tried to explain the
situation and my grueling ordeal over the past last
three days to her.
I went as far as showing her my school papers and
residence permit for Ukraine expecting some
understanding and empathy, whilst hoping against hope
that she may be different from the others and finally
listen and hopefully help me get on a flight to school.
Instead, she handed me over to Egyptian police
officers, who locked me up in a deportation cell
without explanation. I waited in there for about one
hour and then knocked on the door to inquire why I
was locked-up in the cell like a common criminal.
However, I was kept there for over 12 hours, till the
following morning (21st August), degraded,
dehumanised and with no food or water for three full
days. At this point I was very weak physically,
developed sores all over my mouth, my gum was
painfully swollen all round, and I had begun coughing
terribly, with thick yellow discharges.
When I felt like using the toilet I knocked on the
cell door and an Egyptian policeman came to open the
cell from outside. I told the Egyptian policeman that
I needed to use the toilet but he declined and
forcefully shoved me back into the cell and locked the
door again. After few minutes, I, again, repeated the
plea to be allowed to use the toilet, and the same
officer came to the door. I explained that I was
severely pressed and needed to use the toilet. Yet
again, he pushed me back into the cell before I could
finish pleading and locked the door.
Here I was, 17 years of age, so far away from home
with no family communication, hungry, weak, very
tired and being treated like a common criminal
without any human consideration whatsoever; I
became desperately terrified and wondered if I
would live through this ordeal or die hopelessly and
forgotten in a strange land.
I was eventually deported from Cairo and arrived
back in Lagos, after four traumatic days, on 21st
August 2014. My luggage which contained all my books,
newly acquired clothes, birthday gifts (including a
brand new PS4 game console), money to last me
through the new semester, and other valuables,
remains missing till date – with no explanation
whatsoever from the airline, regarding its
whereabouts. The luggage that did arrive with me was
visibly damaged, and I later discovered when I
checked through, that it had been vandalized as
several items packed into it before I left home were
discovered missing.
On arrival in Lagos, I was straightway rushed off to
Rivet Specialist Hospital at Ajao Estate, Lagos, for
medical attention as my health had visibly
deteriorated substantially and, as the hospital would
later confirm my body had become critically
emaciated. I was immediately placed on critical
watch, administered intravenous fluids, antibiotics
and other prescriptive drugs.
A man who was later identified as Khaled El Rafie
(General Manager Lagos, Egypt Air), came along with
my mother to meet me at the airport on arrival. He
showed little sympathy for what his staff and
organization had put a 17-year old passenger through.
He displayed extreme arrogance and perfunctory
remorse about my plight and, to my total dismay,
added more insult to injury by saying that his own
boss in Egypt commented that “I may have been
locked up in a cell in Cairo because of Ebola virus”.
When my mum got very angry at his general approach
and utterances, he told her “why are you
shouting…..?” He wasn’t going to assist on the
matter anymore, and then he walked away”. This was
all before I was taken to the hospital for medical
attention.
Joshua has since returned to school in Ukraine. He
flew on KLM flight.
The immigration helped in procuring him with another
passport in one day.
Egypt Air reacts
By LAWANI MIKAIRU
Vanguard investigations at Egypt Air Head office
where Mr Kunle AbdulAzeez purchased his ticket
revealed that there has been palpable fear about
what Abdulazeez’s guardians would do next after the
visit of his uncle, Mr Toju Gbenebichie, to Egypt Air
office.
Vanguard sought to speak with Mr Khaled El Rafie,
General Manager, Lagos, Egypt Air, but was told that
he traveled and will be back later in the day. But
members of staff of Egypt Air told Vanguard that
the entire organization was very remorseful about
the incident especially as it involved a 17 year old
boy.
One of them who begged Vanguard for anonymity , as
they have not been mandated to speak on the issue,
said it was actually “a mix up” on the part of Egypt
Air ticket officer, Mr Tony Nzan.
The officer also said Mr Nzan has been very sober
after the incident and he went the extra mile of
trying to arrange an alternative ticket through a
friend in Turkish Airline to convey Mr Kunle
AbdulAzeez to Ukraine.
The officer added that the arrangement to
compensate AbdulAzeez with alternative ticket was
put on hold after the visit of his uncle to Egypt Air
office and after “ raising hell”, and threatened to
take Egypt Air to court. Efforts to speak with Mr
Tony Nzan proved abortive as he insisted that he
has been made to write a report on what actually
happened and this has been submitted to the General
Manager who now has the authority to address the
issue.
NCAA begins investigation
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has
begun investigation into the matter. The authority is
already in receipt of the official complaint lodged by
Toju Gbenebichie, the uncle of Joshua. They have
asked for the copies of the ticket, the boarding pass
and other relevant documents that could help their
case.
A letter signed by Abdulmalik Ifueko for the AGM
Flight Operations/Adjudication Unit in the Consumer
Protection Directorate yesterday confirmed this.
A source said that among other things “tearing the
Nigerian passport is a direct affront on the
government and people of Nigeria and will be taken
seriously depending on the outcome of the
investigations.”

Such a trauma! I'm hoping this incident gets fully addressed. I mean, Egypt Air has to be made to pay a heavy penalty for jeopardizing the life of my lil hommie. It's staff had the opportunity to rectify the error there n then when that ticket was issued, yet they couldn't care less.

I'm actually eager to see the reaction of our lame duck government at the impunity shown by that official who tore his passport.

whirlwind7: Such a trauma! I'm hoping this incident gets fully addressed. I mean, Egypt Air has to be made to pay a heavy penalty for jeopardizing the life of my lil hommie. It's staff had the opportunity to rectify the error there n then when that ticket was issued, yet they couldn't care less.

I'm actually eager to see the reaction of our lame duck government at the impunity shown by that official who tore his passport.

It saddens my heart to see dis happened to a nigerian.... If it were anoda country, egypt air,ukraine nd moldova would b facing d jury!!!

Ehn ehn? You don't mean it! The Nigerian government should take this up. They can't keep doing this to us. Are they mad?