The palace of the Obi of Onitsha has refuted the monarch’s claim that a phone call prevented him from boarding the recently attacked Abuja-Kaduna train.
On Saturday, it was widely reported that Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe was already at the railway station when a call came in requiring his quick attention, forcing him to cancel the trip.
The palace of the first-class king, however, claimed in a statement on Saturday that the message attributed to Achebe was false and deceptive, and condemned those behind the fake news.
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The king did not engage the media on any issue other than the keynote address at a meeting with some Igbo leaders in Enugu, according to the palace.
The statement said the monarch, scheduled to deliver a lecture on Tuesday, March 29, at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna, opted for road transportation with adequate security.
It described those using the distressful national tragedy to grab fake media attention and popularity as callous and unpatriotic.
The statement said: “While His Majesty was abroad, the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, sent a letter dated 21 January 2022 inviting him to deliver a lecture on Tuesday, 29 March 2022 to its annual training programme of officers from all security agencies in the country on internal security.
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“His Majesty, on return to Onitsha on 08 February, accepted the invitation in keeping with his commitment, along with his brother traditional rulers, to the promotion of peace and harmony in the country.
“In discussing the options for His Majesty’s travel to Jaji with his hosts on 14 March, the option of travel by train from Abuja to Kaduna was considered and set aside in favour of road transport with adequate security escort.
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