I left Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria, on my way to Barcelona to attend the International Ombudsman Institute Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights. However, during my flight, I had an unsettling experience with three strangers.
The three individuals were from Edo State, Nigeria. Two men and a woman sat in the same row as me on the airplane and we had several conversations during the flight. When we landed in Cairo, Egypt, the flight was delayed, and the airline provided us with transit visas to stay in a hotel overnight.
After freshening up in our rooms, we went out to explore Cairo. That’s when the strangers found me and we started talking again. I even ordered drinks for them and paid in dollar equivalent of Egyptian money. They told me they were from Edo State as well.
Later that night, I heard a knock on my hotel room door at 1:00 am. One of the strangers was there, claiming that his friend and the woman were fighting and that I should come and help separate them. However, I refused to open the door and suggested he call hotel security. As we talked through the door, I heard noise and commotion in the background. It was a set-up to gain entry into my room and rob or harm me. They thought I had a lot of dollars with me.
I told the stranger that I would call hotel security if he knocked on my door again. When I called the security, they arrived quickly and caught the stranger outside my room. I explained the situation to them and they took the stranger’s passport and fingerprint.
The hotel security informed me that passengers on transit visas had been robbed and killed inside their hotel rooms by fellow passengers. They advised me to be cautious and not to trust strangers I meet during flights.
This experience taught me several lessons. Firstly, don’t trust strangers you meet on flights. Secondly, don’t carry anyone’s luggage, as it could contain illegal substances. Thirdly, don’t reveal too much information about yourself to strangers you meet on flights.
Source:By Marshall Isreal
