A Nigerian man recently recounted a troubling encounter he faced at an airport involving an unfamiliar compatriot. This stranger requested assistance to dodge an excess baggage charge by having his luggage checked in under the man’s name.
The man shared that he was at the airport, ready to board his flight scheduled for 8 a.m., carrying merely a small bag. It was then that the stranger approached him, having possibly identified him by his Nigerian accent.
The stranger explained that his baggage was over the allowable weight and asked if the man could check it in on his behalf since the man himself was not carrying any checked luggage.
“I noticed you don’t have a check-in bag. Could you help by checking in mine? It’s overweight, and I want to avoid extra charges. I thought about it and said, okay, I might help but asked the woman next to me if it was permissible because I’d never done anything like this before,” the man detailed.
He further revealed that he grew uneasy when he considered the risks associated with travelling with luggage from an individual he barely knew.
Although the stranger opened the bag and showed him clothes and shoes, he remained concerned that he could not know everything inside it.
“What if we land in the country we’re going to and you’re carrying something illegal? It’s going to be checked under my name. So if they stop the bag, they’re gonna find me. I’m like, this can get me in trouble,” he added.
He eventually trusted his instincts and declined to help the stranger, despite wanting to assist him with the extra luggage fee.
The incident has raised questions about whether travellers should ever accept luggage from strangers, particularly when doing so could leave them responsible for the contents.
Watch the video below…
A man narrates how he turned down a guy who begged him to check in his overweight luggage at the airport to avoid extra fees, since he was traveling light.
Would you have helped in this situation? pic.twitter.com/UBsDAyA3KB
— YabaLeftOnline (@yabaleftonline) August 22, 2026