{UAH} Man removed from UK flight over 'prayer' message on phone

A British man was removed from a plane by armed police at Luton airport after a fellow passenger read a message on his mobile phone about "prayer" and reported him as a security threat.

Laolu Opebiyi, 40, from London, said he was forced to hand over his phone and supply his password in order to establish his innocence after he tried to arrange a conference call prayer with friends using WhatsApp.

A detective subsequently questioned and cleared Opebiyi but the pilot refused to allow him back on to the easyJet flight to Amsterdam last Thursday and he was forced to wait more than three hours for the next scheduled departure.

The Nigerian-born Christian believes the passenger next to him assumed he was a Muslim and jumped to the conclusion that he may be a terrorist.

"That guy doesn't know me and within two minutes he's judging me," he told the Guardian. "Even if I was a Muslim, it was pretty unfair the way I was treated. I don't think anyone, irrespective of their religion should be treated in such a way.

"If we keep on giving into this kind of bigotry and irrational fear, I dare say that the terrorists will have achieved their aim."

Opebiyi, a business analyst, said that as they awaited the plane's 6.45am departure, his fellow passenger asked him: "What do you mean by 'prayer'?" Taken aback that he had been reading over his shoulder, Opebiyi explained that he was arranging to pray with friends.

About two minutes later, the male passenger went to the front of the plane and began a conversation with the cabin crew, Opebiyi said. The man was taken to the door of the cockpit and returned 15 minutes later, telling Opebiyi that he was getting off the plane because he felt unwell. A few minutes later, two armed officers entered the plane. They asked Opebiyi for his phone and told him to remove his belongings and accompany them off the plane and into the terminal building.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/03/man-removed-easyjet-flight-luton-prayer-message-phone

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*Abbey Kibirige  Semuwemba*

Stalk my blog at: http://semuwemba.com/

"These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about death and the hereafter... I go somewhere to get something and then wonder what I'm here after."

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