A female passenger, Comfort Emmanson, who allegedly assaulted airline officials on an Ibom Air flight inbound Lagos from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, has been charged in court. Tunde Moshood, the spokesman to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said Emmanson had also been remanded at the Kirikiri correctional centre in Lagos.
Moshood disclosed this in a post via X on Monday, shortly after the NigeriaCivil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said enforcement action would soon become more frequent in Nigerian airports over the unruly conduct of passengers. The more reason the flying public should be more careful, the unruly passenger on Uyo-Lagos-bound Ibom Air, Miss Comfort Emmanson, has been charged in court, and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri,” Moshood said.
Earlier, videos circulating on social media showed an enraged Emmanson attacking flight attendants on an Ibom Air plane and confronting airport security officials.
Ibom Air said the incident began shortly before take-off from Uyo when the passenger refused to comply with standard aviation safety procedures requiring her to switch off her mobile phone.
The airline said a fellow passenger seated beside her took the phone and switched it off, prompting a verbal tirade from Emmanson. It stated that upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson proceeded to confront the purser who had earlier instructed her to switch off her phone, and physically assaulted her.
According to Ibom Air said her conduct posed a serious threat to the safety of its crew, passengers, and aircraft. The domestic carrier, thereafter, slammed a travel restriction on her, adding that she will no longer be allowed to fly on any of its aircraft.