Nigerian Man Removed From UK Flight Over 'prayer' Message On His Phone

A British-born Nigerian was removed from an Easyjet flight at
Luton airport after a fellow passenger read a message that
mentions 'prayer' on his mobile phone and alerted cabin
crew, who raised alarm with the police.
Laolu Opebiyi was using WhatsApp to arrange a conference
call prayer session with friends, as the Amsterdam-bound
flight was waiting to take off at Luton airport on Thursday
February 25 when a passenger next to him questioned him
about message that included the word 'prayer' asking "What
do you mean by prayer?"
The 40-year-old Nigerian-born business analyst from London
explained to the passenger that he was preparing to pray
with friends. Few minutes later, he was pulled off the flight
by two firearms officers. It is thought the man misread the
name of Mr Opebiyi's prayer group "ISI men" – which stands
for "iron sharpens iron" from a Bible quote – as Isis.
Mr Opebiyi said: "That guy doesn't know me and within two
minutes he's judging me. Even if I was a Muslim, it was
pretty unfair the way I was treated. If we keep on giving into
this kind of bigotry and irrational fear, I dare say that the
terrorists will have achieved their aim."
Mr Opebiyi was taken into questioning by police and quizzed
about his Christian faith and where he attends church. He
was forced to hand over his phone and password so officers
could check his communication. He was eventually freed and
allowed to catch another flight about three hours later.
Seven other passengers reportedly got off the flight fearing a
terror threat and also took the next plane, Guardian reports.
A spokeswoman for Bedfordshire Police said: "Officers
attended and a passenger was removed from the flight as
part of the enquiries. Officers notified easyJet that they were
satisfied that there was no concern around the passenger
travelling."
A spokeswoman for easyJet who apologised over the
incident said: "Easyjet can confirm that following concerns
raised by passengers, the captain of flight EZY2151 from
Luton to Amsterdam requested the assistance of the
authorities who took the decision to disembark and question
the passenger. The safety and security of its passengers and
crew is our highest priority which means that is a security
concern is raised we will always investigate it as a
precautionary measure. After questioning by the authorities,
the passenger was cleared to complete his journey so
easyJet arranged a later easyJet flight for him. We would like
to apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passenger"
The officers cleared Mr Opebiyi for flight but the pilot
refused to let him on and he was made to wait a further
three hours to board the next flight to Amsterdam. He said
that he is aftraind that he is on a terrorist watchlist.
"I stand in uncertainty about my freedom of movement in the
UK" he said.