Nollywood actor arrested for placing hoax Ebola call to Arik Airline flight

Actor, Kingsley Chris Bassey, has been arrested for disrupting a flight, after making a false alert that a passenger aboard had the Ebola virus.

He placed a hoax call to a recent Arik Air flight from Enugu to Lagos, that a female passenger who was travelling on the flight was infected with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Upon arrival and subsequent testing of the female passanger, she tested negative, which prompted the airline to request for Basseys arrest.

According to the airline, about 1.05p.m. on 29 August, a certain man from Enugu, called the airlines customer call centre to alert the airline that his girlfriend who was under quarantine for the EVD had escaped and was on board flight W3 611 from Enugu to Lagos.

Immediately the flight landed at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) in Ikeja, Lagos, Arik Airs ground staff who had been placed on alert approached the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) medical personnel, but the FAAN officials at GAT said they didnt have the requisite equipment to screen passengers for the Ebola virus symptoms.

The aircraft was therefore taxied to the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport. There, the Port Heath officials supervised the disembarking of the passengers and therefore directed the female passenger to be transferred to the clinic for checks. The lady was later discovered to be free of Ebola symptoms after thorough examination. She then told Arik Air personnel that her boyfriend who made the malicious call from Enugu did that to smear her name because they had a misunderstanding.

Basseywould be charged to court on Monday, 15 September, for raising a false alarm which disrupted the operations of the airline.