The passenger accused of assaulting airline officials aboard an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, Comfort Emmanson, has been charged to court and remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, confirmed the development in a post on his official X handle on Monday.
“The more reason the flying public should be more careful, the unruly passenger on the Uyo–Lagos bound Ibom Air, Miss Comfort Emmanson, has been charged to court and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri,” Moshood wrote.
His statement comes amid warnings by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority that stricter enforcement actions will be taken against passengers engaging in disruptive conduct, which has been on the rise in Nigerian airports.
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.
