A passenger accused of assaulting airline officials aboard an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos has been arraigned in court and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre, pending further proceedings.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development confirmed the development through the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister, Tunde Moshood, on Monday. The suspect, identified as Comfort Emmanson, is facing charges related to unruly behaviour and physical assault on flight crew members.
According to reports, the incident occurred on Sunday, August 10, 2025, when Ms. Emmanson allegedly refused repeated instructions to switch off her mobile phone as the aircraft prepared for departure from Uyo. The situation escalated after a fellow passenger seated beside her switched off the device, prompting a heated verbal exchange.
Upon arrival at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, Ms. Emmanson is said to have confronted the Purser who had earlier instructed her. She allegedly stepped on the Purser, tore off her wig, removed her glasses, threw them on the floor, and used her footwear to assault her. When another cabin crew member attempted to intervene, she reportedly slapped her as well.
Witnesses further claim she tried to remove a fire extinguisher from its mount, a move that could have caused serious safety hazards and potentially grounded the aircraft. It reportedly took the combined efforts of the flight crew and security personnel to restrain and remove her from the plane.
Moshood, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), said:
“The more reason the flying public should be more careful — the unruly passenger on the Uyo–Lagos-bound Ibom Air flight, Miss Comfort Emmanson, has been charged to court and is now cooling off in Kirikiri.”
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had earlier warned of tougher enforcement actions at airports in response to a growing number of incidents involving unruly passengers.
This latest case comes just days after a similar controversy involving Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as KWAM 1, who was accused of disrupting a ValueJet flight after being deboarded.