Nigerian Olympics volunteer demands justice over ‘unjust’ deportation from Turkey

Femi Akinwole, a Nigerian Rio 2016 Olympics volunteer, is seeking justice after officials of the Turkey immigration service “unjustly” cut short his dream of serving as a volunteer by preventing him from connecting a flight to Brazil.

Narrating to TheCable his tale of woes at the hands of the Turkish officials on getting to Tepel Akpen Airport(TAV), where he was to connect a flight to Rio, Akinwole said he was humiliated, detained and deported to Nigeria over false claims that his documents were fake.

He said he was detained in a cell called ‘Kabul Edilemes Yolcu Inadmissable Passengers’ for more than four hours, before he was deported to Nigeria. More than two weeks after he was forced back to Nigeria, officials of Turkish Airline have also refused to return his luggage.

He said while in Lagos, the Nigeria immigration service officials whom he was handed over to said that all his travelling documents were genuine and that he should thank his stars that he was not poisoned or roped into another crime by the Turkish officials.

“I boarded Turkish airline around 12:15 am on August 3, 2016 and I was to connect another flight to Sao Paulo around 9:25am the same day,” he said.

“I arrived Tepel Akpen Airport (TAV) in Turkey around 8:32am and I was in a hurry to go where I would get the connecting flight. I looked for the information and I saw that I needed to go to gate 229A for connecting flight to Sao Paulo.

“On my way, a Turkish immigration officer called me and I answered politely and he requested for my passport and boarding pass and I showed it to him.

“He cross-checked my documents and made a call, the next thing that came from his mouth was my BRAZILIAN IS FAKE. When I asked questions repeatedly that how did he confirm, he said it was Brazilian Embassy that gave them signal.

“That was how I was locked up in a security room named Kabul Edilemes Yolcu Inadmissable Passengers. I was locked up for more than 4hrs and I was deported back to Lagos the same day without committing any offence. What a wicked country! They did not even allowed me to say a word.

“I got to MMA-Lagos and I was handed to immigration and Nigeria immigration interviewed me and I answered them and they were just laughing that what audacity did they have to do such a dastardly act. Nigeria immigration wrote their report and returned my passport.”

Akinwole said he was told that his visa was genuine and valid, and he should be happy that his ordeal wasn’t worse.

Akinwole lamented that he had been dreaming of volunteering at the Rio Olympics since 2014, but the Turkish airline/Turkish Immigration/Turkish Ground Services(TGS) destroyed his hope of participating at the global event.

He said he would seek redress, as he had all the relevant documents that would have enabled him travel to Brazil.

“I have details of my visa page, Olympic invitation letter, Turkish airline return ticket and my work schedule in Olympic,” he said. “All I want is Justice.”

After Akinwole arrived Nigeria, he received a mail from Beatriz Marin Monteiro, a Rio 2016 customer service official, that she unfortunately could not do anything to help him in the circumstances.

“Femi, unfortunately in this case we don’t have how to help you, we don’t have what to do, because the problem was with the immigration,” she told him.

“We don’t have the control of the immigration process, or access to their information.”

All efforts to reach the Turkish immigration service proved abortive, as there was no reply to TheCable’s email neither was the telephone call answered.