Last year, in October 2023, an update about flight ticket prices trended. Normally, if you want to travel from Nigeria to a country like the UK, you would spend around 2.7 million Naira for just the flight fee, which is quite a lot. Someone discovered a way to make things cheaper: instead of flying directly from Nigeria to the UK or Canada, you could fly from Togo to your destination. For example, if you were traveling to the UK, you would only spend 630,000 Naira from Togo, saving over 2 million Naira.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Two Nigerian men came across this update and decided to apply it. They were traveling to Canada and chose to go via Togo. They arrived in Togo on November 6 and stayed in a hotel until their flight to Canada. On the day of their flight, they checked out of the hotel and went straight to the Togo airport. As they were about to board the plane to Canada, they were stopped by airport officials, who requested their travel documents and told them to wait by the side. The men complied, thinking it was a routine check.
However, things took a turn when the officials started making false accusations. First, they claimed the men’s visas were fake. When the men explained that they obtained their visas through an agent and detailed the process, the officials then said their passports were fake. The men clarified that their passports were issued in Ibadan, and they had personally collected them from the immigration office.
The airport officials then demanded $600 for the men to bail themselves out. The men refused to pay, knowing their documents were authentic. As a result, the officials took them to a police station. At the station, instead of receiving a fair investigation, the men were beaten, locked in a cell, and had all their belongings, including $200, confiscated. A friend from Nigeria who had escorted them to Togo reported the situation to the Nigerian embassy.
The embassy verified that the men’s passports were genuine and went to the Togo police station to request their release. Unfortunately, after five days of detention, the police transferred them to a Togo prison. The men discovered that half of the prison’s population was Nigerian, many of whom were also innocent. Conditions in the prison were dire: inmates had to pay for everything, including sleeping, bathing, using the toilet, eating, and even sitting on a chair. It was evident that the Togolese government and police were involved in these practices.
After three weeks in prison, the men were finally called for a court hearing. They were fortunate to have a hearing after just three weeks, as some Nigerians had been detained for over five years without one. During the hearing, their rights were violated; they were not allowed to speak, and the proceedings were conducted in French. Ultimately, they were sentenced to one year in prison, later reduced to six months. When they returned the following week for the final judgment, they were unsure of the outcome because it was delivered in French.
This story highlights why you shouldn’t blindly follow social media trends. Just because something worked for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you. The two men in this case are victims of a larger problem, and it’s crucial that the Togolese government acts to ensure their release. It’s incredibly sad to see innocent people suffering in jail, and I hope justice will prevail….CLICK HERE FOR MORE ARTICLE>>>
