Mr Igiebor, the husband of Favour Igiebor, the woman who tore her husband’s passport at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, has apologised to the Nigerian Immigration Service over the incident.
Igiebor took to the couple’s Facebook page with their two kids and announced that the incident was staged as a prank.
He stated that the document his wife tore was not his passport and accused bloggers of taking the incident out of context.
“It’s a skit. It was someone’s story of what happened that we are passing to the world. I did not know that it would go this way. I’m begging everybody, it was not my passport she tore. Immigration has seen my passport, my passport is intact. We are bonafide Nigerians and we cannot go against the law.”
Meanwhile, Mrs Favour Igiebor, was seen in viral video being escorted by immigration officers after she was supposedly arrested.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the NIS, Kenneth Udo, could not confirm the development to NewsNGR.
Udo, who promised to verify Mrs Igiebor’s arrest and get back to our correspondent, has yet to return the call at press time.
NewsNGR reported that Mrs Igiebor risks a 10-year jail term per section 10(b) of the Immigration Act 2015 (as amended).
The law stipulates that, “A person who unlawfully alters, tampers with or mutilates any passport or any pages thereof, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of ten years or a fine of two million naira or both.”
In a viral video on Saturday, the lady was seen tearing what was presumed to be her husband’s passport as they landed in the country with their kids.
In a subsequent video, she told her husband that he would have to remain in Nigeria after moving the family back to the country.
She said in pidgin English, “Na me tear am, bring my children for me, come and go, if you want to stay there, stay there, na here you dey”.