Tinubu’s Return Triggers Lagos Gridlock as Security Restrictions Disrupt Commuters

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after a four-week working vacation in Europe, arriving in Lagos amid extensive security restrictions that caused heavy traffic around the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and adjoining routes.

His presidential aircraft landed at the airport’s Presidential Wing at about 6:22 p.m., after departing Paris, while security personnel restricted movement along roads linking the airport with Lagos Island, Ikoyi and the Third Mainland Bridge. The restrictions began before 5 p.m. and left motorists and commuters stranded for hours, according to reports from the scene.

Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30, spending one week in London before travelling to Paris, where he held engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron, businessman Vincent Bolloré and Femi Otedola, among others.

According to Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu chose to return through Lagos to honour the memory of MKO Abiola, whom the Presidency describes as the winner of the annulled June 1993 presidential election, and will attend a film premiere honouring Abiola at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre on October 1.

The Presidency also said Tinubu will hold strategic meetings with political leaders and associates in Lagos before returning to Abuja. The traffic restrictions triggered criticism from motorists and residents, including lawyer Inibehe Effiong, who said security roadblocks affected his journey in Abuja before he encountered further disruption after arriving in Lagos.

Effiong questioned whether presidential security could be managed without subjecting travellers and other road users to prolonged delays, while other motorists similarly took to social media to warn people to avoid the airport corridor.

The disruption has also revived comments by former President Goodluck Jonathan, who recently recalled that he often used a helicopter after landing at Lagos airport because presidential convoys could create significant traffic problems across the city.

Meanwhile, Tinubu’s return follows weeks of debate over his extended stay abroad and his absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly, where Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Nigeria; the Presidency had maintained that Tinubu remained engaged with government affairs while away.

At the Lagos airport, the President was received by senior officials including Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, Deputy Senate President Jubril Barau and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.