Real Reason I Hid Inside Aircraft Wheel Well in 2013 – Edo Stowaway Opens Up

In 2013, the story of a teenage boy who hid inside the wheel well of a commercial aircraft departing Benin City for Lagos stunned Nigerians and made international headlines.

That boy was Daniel Ohikhena.

More than a decade later, now 26, the Edo-born first son speaks candidly about the hardship, desperation, and misplaced hope that pushed him into one of the most dangerous acts imaginable – and the lingering trauma he still battles today.

Daniel will turn 26 in April 2026. He is the first son in a family of four children – one elder sister and two younger brothers. Growing up in Edo State was anything but easy.

From the age of 10, he was already hawking goods in the market to support his family. By 13, life had forced maturity upon him. With his father absent from the beginning due to his parents’ separation, the burden of responsibility fell heavily on his young shoulders.

“It hasn’t been easy being the first son”, he recalls. “I had to protect myself and help my family. I’ve been the one pushing my family along.”

Life in Benin was harsh. The constant struggle to make ends meet shaped his early years. Watching foreign movies only intensified his longing for a different life – a life outside Nigeria. To his young mind, leaving the country felt like the only path to rescuing his family from hardship.

Daniel did not act impulsively. For more than a year, he studied the security patterns around the airport.
At the time, he attended Ogbe Primary/Secondary School and frequently used the back of the airport as a shortcut to school. During those walks, he carefully observed security movements and searched for a weak point.

Eventually, he found one – a small spot he could slip through unnoticed.
He told no one of his exact plan, although he had hinted to his younger brother that “one day” he might do something significant.

He never imagined that the aircraft he boarded would be on a local flight rather than an international journey.

“I thought the plane was leaving Nigeria”, he admits. “I didn’t know it was flying within the country.”
Inside the Wheel Well:

Armed with a small bag, sweaters, clothes, and canned water, Daniel climbed into the tyre compartment.
He had no idea of the risks involved.
The deafening roar of the aircraft engines overwhelmed him. The pain was intense. Even today, he says the sound has never truly left him.

“Whenever I’m in a quiet place, the sound disturbs me”, he explains. “That’s why I’m always using ear pods or playing music – to suppress it.”

The flight from Benin to Lagos lasted nearly an hour. As the plane prepared to land and the landing gear deployed, Daniel realised he was still in Nigeria.

After landing, he tried to blend in with passengers disembarking from the aircraft.
He climbed down once – saw no one – and went back up. He tried again. Still no passengers. On the third attempt, he heard footsteps and assumed travelers were approaching.
Instead, it was a security officer.

“I just jumped in front of him”, he says. “That was how they caught me.”

At that moment, his hearing was temporarily impaired from the noise. He could barely understand what the security personnel were saying. The engine roar echoed persistently in his ears.

Daniel was taken into custody and transferred to the State Security Service in Lagos. Contrary to what many expected, he says he was treated kindly.

“It was as if I was at home”, he recalls.
Weeks later, his mother arrived. She had learned of the incident through a relative abroad who saw it on Facebook. Their reunion was emotional. Though deeply upset, she was relieved that her son was alive.

After the incident, Daniel was invited to meet the then Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole.
The governor promised assistance and awarded Daniel a scholarship to attend Edo College, a boarding secondary school in Benin. His mother also received temporary financial support.

Later, he gained admission to Ambrose Alli University, where he began studying Accounting under a government-backed scholarship.

However, the scholarship system proved unstable. School fees were often paid late – sometimes during examination periods – leaving Daniel and his mother under immense stress.

His mother reportedly faced humiliating treatment when trying to collect funds. The emotional toll became unbearable.

“If I was on scholarship, I shouldn’t be stressing like that just to pay school fees”, he says.

By his third year (300 level), overwhelmed by financial inconsistency and personal loss, he withdrew from the university. He did not consult his course adviser or school authorities. At the time, he was emotionally drained and grieving someone close to him.

“I didn’t want to present myself as a burden”, he says. “I just decided to continue with my life.”

Years after the dramatic incident, Daniel said life has remained a personal struggle.

As the first son, he still shoulders family responsibilities. His mother no longer has a shop, having been displaced from her previous location. Financial pressure continues to weigh heavily on him.

He acknowledges the support he received through The Lucky Udu Experience, which helped him during a particularly difficult period when rent and other expenses mounted. But he said the help was temporary.

Currently, Daniel is learning hairstyling – braiding and fixing women’s hair – as a vocational skill. He also hopes to venture into e-hailing driving but struggles to save enough money to purchase a vehicle.

Perhaps the deepest scar from 2013 is invisible. He has not received medical treatment for the persistent ear disturbance caused by the aircraft noise. Instead, he relies on ear pods and music to drown out what he describes as a constant internal echo. Even now, more than a decade later, silence brings back the sound of the engines.

At 26, Daniel says his greatest wish is simple: happiness.
“I haven’t really considered myself happy in recent years”, he admits.

Does he still dream of traveling abroad? Yes – but not recklessly. For now, survival and stability take priority. He wants financial comfort and a better life for his family.
Above all, he said he sincerely needs support – not out of pride, but out of necessity.

From a 13-year-old boy who believed clinging to an aircraft could change his destiny, to a 26-year-old man battling trauma and responsibility, Daniel Ohikhena’s story is not just about a shocking act of desperation.

It is about poverty, pressure, interrupted opportunity, and a young man still searching for solid ground beneath his feet.