Obi confirms his phone was in the custody of an aide
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) has confirmed his mobile telephone handset was not stolen at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja despite a viral video showing him panicking over the device.
Obi explained through his Media Aide Tai Obasi that the phone thought to have gone missing was in the custody of another aide.
The media was awash with videos and memes of a perplexed Obi searching for his handset, with many people concluding it was probably pinched in the court when he was exchanging pleasantries with supporters.
Throughout the proceedings, Obi sat close to his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, LP National Chairman Julius Abure, and author Chimamanda Adichie.
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Obi ‘never lost his phone’
“To start with, he never lost his phone. What happened is that one of his aides, who usually goes around with him, was with me in the court.
“Usually, he keeps his phone on the table in front of him. So when his aide noticed that a lot of people were coming to greet him and his mind was off the phone, he took it for safekeeping,” Obasi explained in a statement, per The PUNCH.
“Unfortunately, the aide wasn’t with him when he started looking for the phone. So he didn’t really know it was the aide that kept it.
“The whole drama didn’t take up to two minutes before the aide, who went to urinate, came back with the phone. But before, Obi’s anxiety over the missing phone became noticeable. I believe that was when whoever took the video came into the picture.
“The videographer, journalist, or whoever took the viral clip only captured the part where he was looking for the phone and started trending with it. They were circulating the report long before we left the court.”
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