Media adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, on Monday queried when the popular Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, will be arraigned in court for his controversial behaviour at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, recently.
Ibe’s challenge comes as a female passenger, Comfort Emmanson, was banned fpr life by Ibom Air for being “unruly”. The sanction was pronounced after a row at the MMIA.
Videos shared on X (formerly Twitter) showed an enraged Emmanson attacking a flight attendant on an Ibom Air plane and confronting airport security officials.
The clips were posted on Sunday, August 10, with social media users noting that the passenger was on the Uyo-Lagos flight the same day.
In a statement on Monday, August 11, Ibom Air confirmed that the incident happened on Sunday, August 10, aboard its Uyo–Lagos flight.
The airline Emmanson’s actions posed a serious threat to “the safety of our crew, passengers, and aircraft”.
The aviation firm said the youthful lady was handed over to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and “will no longer be permitted to fly on any of our aircraft”.
According to the airline, shortly before take-off from Uyo, “Ms. Emmanson was instructed in line with standard aviation safety procedures, to switch off her mobile phone”.
The video of the incident gained traction on social media, with Nigerians expressing mixed reactions. Ibe waded in.
He tweeted via his known X account: “The assault of Ibom Air crew and airport security officials on Sunday by an Ibom Air passenger, Ms. Comfort Emmanson is the reason why we need to be deliberate about nipping bad behaviour in the bud.
“There’s a temptation to hail the airport security officials of acting swiftly and removing the unruly passenger from the aircraft and the tarmac.
“But the question arises: Why was Kwam 1 also not bundled out of the tarmac in the same manner when he, in a hostage-taking manner, obstructed ValueJet AIrline operations in Abuja last week? May be it was because Comfort is not a friend of the president.
“This is the reason why the authorities should have made an example of KWAM 1 to avert copycats like passenger Comfort from breeding a Kwam 2 scenario.”
He added: “The question is, when will KWAM 1 be arraigned in court along with Comfort? The world, especially the international aviation body, is watching.”
The latest airport incident comes less than a week after Kwam 1 allegedly spilt an alcoholic beverage on airport staff while boarding a ValueJet aircraft at the domestic terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Subsequently, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said an indefinite travel ban placed on KWAM 1 until ongoing investigations into the flight incident are concluded.
