Ekpeki Denied US Entry
Nigerian author and editor Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki was reportedly denied entry to the US when attempting to attend the NAACP Image Awards ceremony as a nominee.
Ekpeki said on Twitter today,
I’m alive, though I won’t say well, yet. Currently in Nigeria. I was detained for 3 days, & missed the NAACP Image awards. Been seeing the speculations. I’ll just say it’s way worse than anyone is says or thinks. But I’ll talk to a lawyer first, then more, soon
As for talks of oh he’s fine now, Well meaning. I appreciate you all. But I’m not fine, I’m angry. The talks of he must have overstayed & bla, I’ll say people saying this dont know anything, what visa I have, how I used it, etc. But sure, ratify fascist, racist acts of empire
He also retweeted a post from ML Kejera (@kejeraL) which shows an image of a message from US Customs and Border Patrol stating that upon arrival at the Los Angeles International Airport, Ekpeki was “referred to secondary and ultimately found inadmissable to the United States.” Ekpeki said, “This is an oversimplification of what happened but yea.” His last note in the thread says: “Also, if you are an immigration or other lawyer and want to slide into my dm to talk, feel free.”
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