The passenger accused of assaulting airline officials on an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, Comfort Emmanson, has been charged to court and remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Facility.
Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Tunde Moshood disclosed this in a post on X (formerly Twitter), on Monday.
This was shortly after the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) warned that enforcement actions against unruly passengers at Nigerian airports will become more frequent.
Emmanson’s remand comes less than a week after popular Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal a.k.a. KWAM 1 reportedly obstructed a ValueJet Airlines aircraft from taking off in Abuja.
In a statement on Monday, Ibom Air described Emmanson’s behaviour as a “serious threat” to the safety of crew, passengers, and the aircraft and slammed a life ban on her from boarding the airline.
According to Ibom Air, the incident began shortly before takeoff from Uyo when Emmanson refused to switch off her mobile phone despite repeated instructions.
A fellow passenger eventually turned off the device after the Pilot-in-Command made an announcement, which allegedly triggered an altercation from Emmanson.
Upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson reportedly waited for other passengers to disembark before confronting the Purser, who had earlier instructed her to switch off the phone.
“She forcibly tore off the Purser’s wig, removed her glasses, threw them to the floor, and used her footwear to assault her,” the statement read.
The passenger was further accused of slapping the Purser several times, and when another cabin crew member intervened, she slapped her too before attempting to forcibly remove a fire extinguisher to use as a weapon, an act, the airline claimed could have damaged and grounded the aircraft.
The airline has since banned her travels, stating that she will “no longer be permitted to fly on any of our aircraft.”
Reiterating its zero-tolerance policy towards unruly conduct, Ibom Air vowed that such behaviour “will be met with the strongest possible response, including legal action and permanent restriction from our services.”
