‘Stroke victim, not Nigerian billionaire was airlifted from Lagos traffic’

Three days after it was speculated that a Nigerian billionaire was picked up by a helicopter to escape a four-hour traffic, a helicopter company has told the BBC that it rather picked up a stroke victim.

The Tropical Arctic Logistics Ltd helicopter company’s reaction came hours after Nigeria’s Civil Aviation authority said it had launched an investigation into the incident on Wednesday.

Femi Adeniji said it was normal to respond to emergency calls as it did on the Ore road of the Lagos-Benin Expressway explaining that the man they picked up was suffering from high blood pressure and a doctor who was also stuck in the traffic was helping him before the helicopter was called.

He told the BBC that they had offered such emergency services six times in the last two months and he didn’t understand why it should create a fuss.

Adeniji dismissed the speculation that the helicopter was called by a billionaire, speculated to be Julian Osula, to escape the massive traffic.

He said that there was no truth in the speculation that the helicopter was called by a billionaire who wanted to escape the huge traffic jam.

The video, which was widely circulated on social media, attracted a lot of criticism directed at the huge divide between the rich and the poor in Nigeria.

According to the BBC, the luxury brand Julian’s Luxury was one of the first to speculate that the video showed a billionaire being rescued.

The investigation by Nigeria’s Civil Aviation authority is expected to unravel the actual truth.