Accra Bound Passenger Dies at Lagos Airport

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos

Chinedu Eze
A  middle-aged Nigerian passenger, Mr. Akunne Osei, who was billed to travel to Accra, Ghana, yesterday died at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while going through boarding.

The sudden death of Osei took everyone by surprise, including the girl who accompanied him, suspected to be his daughter, who stood beside his body crying.
The body of the deceased was covered with a cloth that was not long enough to cover his legs, as efforts were made to remove the body from the airport.

The body was laid beside the Port Health office at the basement of the terminal and it was there for a long time as both passengers and other airport users walked in to catch a glimpse of the man’s corpse.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed that the late Osei was residing in Accra, Ghana and had arrived Lagos for business transactions aboard an Arik Air flight on Friday, August 8, 2014 but died at the Lagos airport on his way back to Accra.

“The passenger, Mr. Akunne Osei took ill on Saturday, August 9, 2014. When the situation got worse, he called his doctor in Accra who instructed him to return to Ghana immediately for further treatment,” a statement from FAAN, signed by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Yakubu Dati, said.

FAAN also said during the late Osei’s boarding formalities for his return trip to Accra, the ailment degenerated and he became very weak.

He was subjected to an Ebola Virus scan by port health officials, the result of which was negative.

“No further attention was paid to him after his result read negative but the passenger later slumped and died around the port health office,” FAAN further explained.

 Passengers who came across the body were agitated and gripped by fear because of the suspicion that he might have died from the Ebola virus.