Airport officials at the Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport in Lome, Togo, on Saturday, brutalised and handcuffed Nigerian travellers stranded in the country.

The Nigerian citizens arrived the airport from New York via an Ethiopian carrier and were hoping to take an ASKY flight to Lagos, but the carrier was full.

Irritated by the development, the Nigerian travelers began to protest, attracting attention from the airport security who reacted by hitting, manhandling and handcuffing them.

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Videos recorded by witnesses show no fewer than five travellers in handcuffs.

“Some Nigerians aboard Ethiopian Air en route Lagos from New York had a stop in Lome, where the airline decided to drop them off. The Nigerians decided to revolt, so people called in the Togolese police, and they manhandled the Nigerians,” a source privy to the incident told FIJ.

He said Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, had flown into the country from Turkey for diplomatic talks on the issue.

“The government has already engaged the Togolese government. The Nigerian ambassador has already engaged the Togolese ambassador, and they are handling it,” said the source who asked not to be named.

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Debo Adesina, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Togo, helped to airlift the detained Nigerians to Lagos that day, reports Arise TV. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), also said the incident was being investigated.

When FIJ contacted Gnassingbe Eyadema Airport, a representative, who refused to mention her name, said the airport security could not have maltreated the Nigerian travellers if they had not done something wrong.