Metro

US Returnee Tackles Airline Over Missing Luggage, Rejects $1,700 Compensation

Published

3 years ago

June 17, 2022

A lawyer, identified only as Abimbola, has lamented the loss of his property after he boarded a Delta Airline flight from Atlanta, United States of America, to Lagos.

Abimbola said efforts to recover the items since March 16, 2022, when the incident happened, had been abortive, alleging negligence on the side of the airline.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the legal practitioner and his wife travelled from Newark to Lagos via Atlanta.

The couple were reportedly requested to check in their carry-on luggage by the airline staff because the flight was fully booked without space in the aircraft cabin for loads.

The duo were said to have hesitated in releasing the luggage, but eventually dropped it with the Delta baggage handlers.

Abimbola, who was travelling with his wife for his 60th birthday celebration in Lagos, stated that he observed that his items were missing when he arrived in Lagos.

He listed the lost items to include a black Louis Vuitton cross-body vintage bag gifted to him by his wife for his 50th birthday, a pair of Versace transition sunglasses, another pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses, a Movado wristwatch, two Apple laptops, an Apple CD loader, Apple air pods, a box with gold jewellery and other acquisitions.

He noted that he initially suspected the driver assigned to carry his family’s load from the airport.

“On March 20, 2022, I lodged a formal complaint at a local police station (Maroko Police Station) in Lagos and a police detective, Mrs Awe, was assigned to investigate it. This was because our entire luggage was in his (driver’s) custody.

“After the questioning, we concluded that there was merely circumstantial evidence, which did not establish any sufficient wrongdoing on the part of the driver,” he added.

Abimbola stated that he made further attempts by tracking his stolen Airpods with his US phone to a private house 10 minutes away from the Atlanta airport.

Upon the discovery, the lawyer said attempts to reach the Delta airline were abortive.

He said after several attempts to reach the airline’s help desk in Atlanta also failed, an official of the aviation company, identified as Tracy Adkins, contacted him.

The lawyer said, “She called me again the second time on the same day and we spoke at length during which she dropped a hint that regardless of whatever claim I may submit, the maximum compensation Delta will offer is $1,700.

“This is a slap on my face, a violation of my person and an assault on my dignity.”

Abimbola told PUNCH Metro that some of the items had “sentimental value” and that if he was flying to London as a British citizen, he would have been treated with more respect.

His lawyer, Akinwale Akintomiwa, said he would sue for damages on behalf of his client.

He said, “We are still putting our facts together and preparing the court processes. We have yet to file the matter in court. We will write a formal letter of demand stating that he (the victim) should be fully compensated rather than the meagre sum of $1,700 which Delta offered. “

Akintomiwa stated that the case would be taken seriously because of the perceived discrimination on the part of the airline.

He said, “From the facts of this case, there is absolutely no gainsaying the fact that the airline is liable for this egregious breach. The airline is in clear breach of the contract to transport him and his goods to Lagos safely and they are liable. The principle of law is that where there is a wrong, there must be a remedy. Ubi jus ubi remedium.”

The lawyer said Abimbola might be seeking various reliefs from the court, including an order compelling the company to pay the sum of N17,751,000 and the sum of 5,000,000 as general damages for the loss of the valuables.

The Director, Corporate Communications, Delta Airline, Olivia Cullis, in an e-mail to the media consultant of the airline, which was shared with PUNCH Metro, stated that the company had investigated the incident.

She said, “Delta works to put our customers front and centre of our business every day. We launched an internal investigation into this incident and responded to the Department of Transportation following the customer’s complaint. The response included Delta making a settlement directly with the customer, which adheres to guidelines set by the Montreal Convention.”

Efforts to reach the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, on the incident via calls and text messages were abortive.

Despite repeated attempts, our correspondent did not get any response as of the time of filing this report.

PUNCH.

Metro

My Wife Sold My Property After Giving Her Money For Business — Husband

Published

4 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

…I sold his property to feed our children after he abandoned us — Wife

An Upper Area Court in Kubwa, Abuja, has dissolved a 16-year-old marriage between Hajarat Isa and her husband, Muhammed Hassan, for lack of love.

The judge, Mohammed Wakili, dissolved the marriage according to Islamic Law, following Hajarat’s prayer for divorce on the said ground.

Wakili ordered that the divorce certificate be issued to the plaintiff adding that she would not observe “Iddah” because the couple did not consummate since 2022.

Iddah is a waiting period to be observed for three months before contracting another marriage.

Earlier, the petitioner, a mother of four, had told the court she got married to the respondent under Islamic law in 2008.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),she said that she was no longer interested in the marriage and prayed that the court grants her request for divorce on grounds of lack of love.

The respondent, however, said that he divorced his wife and remarried her in 2022 which was in his absence because he travelled to his hometown while the marriage was contracted.

”I will grant her divorce, but I want her to return all my belongings in her possession.

“She sold my television, a play station I bought for the children and my clothes and shoes.

“We have not consummated the marriage since 2022 and I gave her a shop and capital to start a business before I travelled.

When I got back she sold my gym equipments,” he said.

The plaintiff said that in 2022, the respondent travelled to his home town for one year and seven months and only sends money once in a while.

“I was the only one taking care of our four children and two more he had with his ex-wife.

“I sold the said items to take care of our children.

“I am a private teacher and was paid only N15,000 when he left.

“I later fell sick and that was when he returned.

“My younger brother had to come to help me with the children while my older sister took care of me,” she said.

She added that she did not sell his gym equipments but had explained to him that they got stolen and the reason she sold other items was for upkeep.

The respondent, however, told the court that he believed the plaintiff may have sold the items for upkeep while he was away and forgave her for it.

Metro

Man Accepts Money To Divorce Wife

Published

4 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Matero Local Court in Zambia, has heard a startling case in which a man admitted to divorcing his wife after being promised K7,000 by her lover, who had impregnated her

According to Zambia Observer, Innocent Chileshe told the magistrate, Lewis Mumba that he agreed to end his marriage after Innocent Mutonga, a married man who was in a relationship with his wife, offered him money to clear the way for their union.

“Your honour, this man was in a sexual relationship with my wife, and she even became pregnant for him. I was the one taking care of the pregnancy, yet he is the one responsible,” Chileshe testified.

He said the court had earlier ordered Mutonga to pay him K15,000 in compensation for adultery.

But after the ruling, Mutonga allegedly approached Chileshe with a new proposal.

“He told me to divorce my wife in exchange for K7,000 so that he could continue freely with her. I accepted the offer and gave him the divorce papers, but he never paid me,” Chileshe told the court.

Chileshe added that he not only supported his wife during the pregnancy but also continued to provide for her and the child after birth, responsibilities he argued belonged to Mutonga.

Mumba found Mutonga guilty of contempt for failing to honour the original order and directed him to pay K165 or face 14 days in remand.

He further warned him to strictly comply with the earlier K15,000 compensation ruling.

The unusual case has drawn attention for highlighting how adultery disputes and financial negotiations have increasingly become entangled in local courts, raising questions about justice, dignity, and the limits of compensation in marital breakdowns.

Metro

Ngige Recounts Attack On Convoy By Gunmen

Published

14 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

A former Anambra State Governor and ex-Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has narrated how his convoy was attacked by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.

Ngige said the incident occurred when his personal aides were returning from an errand, resulting in the death of a woman, while his police orderly was shot in the leg and stripped of his rifle and uniform.

He disclosed this to journalists on Friday, when the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, visited him at his country home in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, to commiserate with him over the attack.

Ngige said he had been in Anambra since Saturday and had sent his personal aides on errands, including taking one of his vehicles for maintenance, when they were ambushed on their way back.

Dispelling rumours of his death, he said, “As you can see, I am alive; I am not dead, so there should be no panic. They attacked my convoy while they were returning around Umuoji. They saw some vehicles racing towards them, which later reversed, chased after them and started shooting.

“The assailants were all dressed in police and army uniforms. My convoy driver managed to manoeuvre until they ran into a shop. They caught up with my police security man who battled with them until his bullets were exhausted.

“They took away his rifle and uniform after shooting him in the leg.

“They told the two policemen that they were serving a ‘zoo government’. I think something is in the offing. They are seizing arms and mopping up police uniforms.

“I have spoken to the governor of the state, who assured me they will be tracked down. If they are not tracked down, it can lead to potential danger and an unravelling of the calmness we have enjoyed in the state for the past three months.

“You know we are entering the Christmas season and our people will be coming home. They need to be tracked down because this is a gang with a modus operandi of operating in police uniforms.”

On whether he believed the attack was targeted, Ngige said it was possible because his pilot driver and convoy are well known, but added that it might also be coincidental.

“My pilot driver is very well known. Anywhere people see him, they know Ngige is around. He has driven me for 22 years. So, on that basis, I may say they knew it was my convoy and decided to attack.

“On the other hand, it may be that they just saw a convoy with policemen and attacked them to harvest guns and uniforms. So I’m not insisting it was targeted. Anyone who targets me is wasting his time,” he added.

Speaking on the attackers’ reference to serving a “zoo government” and the recent tension surrounding the incarceration of the Indigenous People of Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Ngige said the situation called for a political solution.

“When they told the security men that they were serving a ‘zoo government’ and should tell their masters they are coming for them, you know what that means.

“My take is that Nnamdi Kanu’s case requires a political solution. I met former President Muhammadu Buhari over it. Governor Soludo has also said he wants Kanu released to him. But even if they don’t want to release him to us, they can release him to Britain.

“Why I say so is because the symptoms he is exhibiting are bizarre. I am not a psychiatrist, but something is wrong. Even the doctors who conducted the psychiatric evaluation missed something. There is a mania component. In such cases, the court normally discharges the person. This is elementary psychiatry, and I am a medical doctor,” he said.

Also speaking, Obi, who visited Ngige in Alor, thanked God for sparing the former governor’s life and commiserated with the family of the woman who was shot dead while making a video of the incident.

Recall that unidentified gunmen attacked Ngige’s convoy along the Nkpor–Nnobi Road in Idemili North Local Government Area on Thursday.

According to Ngige’s former media aide, Sir Fred Chukwuelobe, the former governor was not in the convoy at the time of the attack.

A policeman in the pilot car was shot, and his gun and uniform were taken by the assailants, who were reportedly dressed in police and military uniforms.

Eyewitnesses said a woman who was recording the shooting was fatally shot, while a shop owner who rushed out to observe the commotion was also hit but survived and is scheduled for surgery to remove bullets lodged in his body.

“No policeman was killed. The escort leader who was shot has been operated upon and is expected to make a full recovery,” one eyewitness said.