JUST-IN: Federal Gov’t Asks Ibom Air To Withdraw Criminal Charges Against Comfort Emmanson

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has ordered Ibom Air to withdraw its criminal complaint against Comfort Emmanson, the passenger at the centre of a heated August 10, 2025, incident aboard the airline’s Uyo-Lagos flight.

In a statement posted on his official X handle on Wednesday morning, Keyamo revealed that the move came after “consultations with critical stakeholders in the aviation sector” and was based on “compassionate grounds” following an expression of remorse by the passenger.

“I have conferred with Ibom Airline to withdraw the complaint against her today. When the Police took her statement in the presence of her lawyer, she exhibited great remorse for her conduct,” the Minister said.

LEADERSHIP reports that the incident, which went viral on social media, reportedly began shortly after the aircraft landed, escalating into a physical confrontation between Emmanson and a member of the cabin crew.

The altercation drew intervention from security personnel and eventually led to her arrest.

According to Keyamo, the Commissioner of Police at the Airport Command and the Police Prosecutor will “immediately take the remaining steps to facilitate her release from Kirikiri Prisons within this week.”

In addition, he confirmed that the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) had agreed to lift the lifetime flying ban placed on Emmanson.

“I have also conferred with the leadership of the AON and appealed to them to lift the life-time flying ban imposed on her, to which they agreed. The details of the resolution will be made public by the AON subsequently,” he said.

The Minister stressed that both passengers and airline staff bore responsibility for the breakdown in decorum during recent aviation incidents.

“Clear wrongs were committed by both the offending passengers and staff of the airlines involved… all the actors involved cannot continue to highlight the injury or injustice done to them without acknowledging their own equal culpability,” he noted.

Keyamo added that the government’s decision was not an endorsement of misconduct but a one-off act of leniency

“Government will never pander to base sentiments, politically motivated views or warped legal opinions when clear encroachment of our laws are involved, we have decided to draw a line after these clemencies.”