President Muhammadu Buhari flew back to Nigeria last night after what his spokesman Garba Shehu called a “technical stopover” in London from Washington.
Mystery has surrounded his stopover in London, especially as one of his aides, Bashir Ahmad, tweeted as he took off from Washington that the president was heading to Abuja on Tuesday. When there was no sign of the president in Nigeria by Thursday, Shehu came up with the “technical stopover” story, which then needed further clarification about refuelling.
In the meantime, a video clip was circulating on Whatsapp by Wednesday morning showing pro-Biafrans protesting as a couple of cars drove into Abuja House, in London where it is claimed that Buhari stays during trips to the city. The protesters seemed to believe that Buhari was in one of the cars as they rained insults in his direction.
Now, Lere Olayinka, spokesman for Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose has added a new twist to the tale:
See the protest by angry Nigerians that made Buhari to run from London yesterday. They stormed his Official Residence and were calling him thief, terrorist, etc! https://t.co/iY3cq94Vg0 https://t.co/iY3cq94Vg0
— Lere Olayinka – Aresa 1 (@OlayinkaLere) May 4, 2018
Pro-Biafrans also claimed that their all-night protests over two nights in front of Abuja House last month were why Buhari cut short his stay following the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit to return to Nigeria. The pro-Biafrans are demanding the secession of southeast Nigeria from the rest of the country.