Popular Nigerian fashion designer and entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has accused British Airways staff of assault, intimidation, and discriminatory treatment at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, while she was attempting to board a flight to the United Kingdom.
Lawani, who lives with a degenerative spine condition and relies on a walking stick and wheelchair assistance, said the incident occurred during her scheduled 9:10 pm flight, despite having completed online check-in in advance.
In a video circulating on social media, Lawani is seen confronting airline personnel over threats that she would be denied boarding. A female staff member reportedly insisted that Lawani would not be allowed to travel unless she deleted a recording taken on her phone.
Explaining the incident on social media, Lawani said she arrived at the check-in counter at around 7:40 pm, only to be told it was closed, even though other passengers were still being processed.
“I use a walking stick permanently and British Airways’ wheelchair service because I can’t lift anything heavy or stand for long. I also have a trachea injury that affects my speech, so I avoid stress because when I force myself to shout, my body can go into shock,” she said.
Lawani alleged that staff ignored her and other passengers in the queue. “They closed the barricade and told us they had stopped checking in, yet they were still checking in other people in the same queue. We kept pleading calmly, explaining that I had already checked in online and that I had a hospital appointment in the UK, but they were rude, nasty, and dismissive,” she added.
She further claimed that while some passengers were turned away, a staff member was secretly assisting another passenger at a corner of the terminal. “A companion with me, @segun_wealth, recorded a video of her snapping another passenger’s boarding pass by the corner. The moment she noticed the recording, she panicked and claimed they were friends. If you’re friends, why are you secretly checking her in?” Lawani asked.
The passenger later requested that the video be deleted, which Lawani said was done, but she insisted that airport CCTV would confirm the events. “When a proper investigation starts, airport CCTV will tell the story. A whole Ghana cannot say there is no CCTV at the airport,” she said.
READ ALSO:
- ‘I Make Films For Thinkers, Not Everyone’ — Kunle Afolayan Replies Critics Of New Anikulapo Series
- “I’m Alive And Will Die When My Maker Calls Me Home” – Pete Edochie Refutes Fresh Death Rumours
- Lagos Announces Partial Closure Of Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway For Repairs
- Toyin Lawani Alleges Assault, Intimidation By British Airways Staff In Ghana
- Dangote Refinery Reduces Petrol Price To N774 Per Litre
According to Lawani, the staff member became aggressive after the recording. “She started screaming at us at the top of her voice, threatening that if we didn’t delete the video, she would make sure I wouldn’t travel, even if I rebooked my ticket. That was when I brought out my own phone to record her, and she repeated it, acting as if her father owns British Airways,” Lawani alleged.
She also claimed that her phone was struck during the confrontation and described the ordeal as both physically and emotionally harrowing, particularly given her medical condition.
At the time of filing this report, British Airways had not issued an official response to the allegations.
Another passenger at the airport, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the incident, corroborated claims of staff misconduct and called for an investigation. “I was there, and we all saw her trying to clear some other set of passengers through the corner. That is an obvious sharp practice. I think what these airline staff do is intentionally lock out passengers where they have either overbooked an aircraft or want to criminally scoop money from passengers to grant them entry, making their rights a privilege. Honestly, Nigerians should be treated better, not even when you saw that the person involved was in a wheelchair. British Airways will do well to investigate this matter,” the witness said.