London to Lagos: Nigerian biker denied entry into Cote d’ Ivoire

Lion Heart, Kunle Adeyanju who is riding on his bike was on May 15th denied entry into Cote d’ Ivoire when he wanted to enter the country from neighboring Mali.

newsmen reached out to Kunle to find out exactly why and he said that the border authorities at the Mali-Cote d’Ivoire border had issues with a permit (laissez-passer) issued to him by the Nigerian Embassy in Mali.

A laissez-passer is a travel document issued by an authority, granting unrestricted access to its holder. It is a kind of permit that when presented by the holder, allows him or her entry into a country or an area.

The laissez-passer Kunle presented at the Cote d’ Ivoire was issued to him by the Nigerian Embassy in Mali just in case he encountered any problems on his way. As an ECOWAS citizen with a Nigerian passport, Kunle didn’t really need such a permit but was issued one as a precaution.

Kunle told newsmen that the border authorities rejected the permit, saying it was supposed to be issued by the Nigerian Embassy in Cote d’ Ivoire, and not Mali.

Kunle had to ride back to Mali to wait for the situation to be sorted out by the three cluster Nigerian embassies in Mali, Cote d’ Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

But on a positive note, Kunle shared an interesting video of him riding with Malian bikers and it is all nice to see. He said Malian bikers are the best.

See the video here