AM EDITORIAL: As Nigeria’s Aviation Industry Receives Discomfort From Comfort Saga

In the last one week, Nigeria’s aviation industry has been in the news with controversies over an incident of unruly behaviour involving one Ms. Comfort Emmanson, who Ibom Air on Sunday, August 10, 2025, alleged that she threatened safety of airline crew, passengers and aircraft.

Each day after this incident, reactions have emerged as events have unfolded. Nigeria’s aviation industry has been in discomfort over Comfort Emmanson’s case.

Before take-off from Uyo on a flight to Lagos, Ibom Air said Emannson had refused to in line with aviation safety procedures, switch off her mobile phone when she was instructed to do so. This led to verbal tirade with crew. The situation was calmed and the flight departed.

Upon arrival in Lagos, a quarrel with the Purser involving alleged slapping of the Purser several times by Emmanson, occured. She allegedly attempted to forcibly remove a fire extinguisher to use as a weapon, an act that could have damaged and grounded the aircraft. By this time, the Pilot-in-Command had alerted airport security. Before security could arrive, the Purser who was seen on the viral video on the internet, prevented the passenger from leaving the aircraft until security arrived. The arrival of Ibom Air security personnel, did not deter the passenger as she attacked them as well, lashing out violently at the security personnel. She was then restrained and removed from the aircraft by force. Even after disembarking, according to the airline, she continued to assault it’s security personnel, and even slapped the ground supervisor. The passenger was removed from the ramp and taken into custody by FAAN security and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation according to the airline.

Ibom Air “placed a travel restriction on Ms. Emmanson, who will no longer be permitted to fly on any of our aircraft.”

Videos were circulated on the internet demonizing Emmanson and portraying her as a violator of simple instructions. Besides, the video showed that in the process of her being dragged from the aircraft by security personnel, her naked body was exposed, thereby humiliating her. However, public opinion derived from the videos portrayed her as a guilty unruly passenger. One of the videos made by Emmanson herself before leaving the aircraft showed where she was appealing to the purser, who had blocked the aircraft door, to allow her leave the aircraft.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in reaction, imposed a local and international indefinite flight ban on Emmanson. The Nigeria Police arraigned her at Ikeja Magistrate Court for criminal offences and remanded her at Kirikiri Prisons, as she could not provide adequate sureties in court.

On Monday, August 11, 2025, Minister of Aviation & Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN) directed that whoever released the part of the video containing the indecent exposure of Emmanson’s body, amongst Ibom Air staff, should be singled out and adequately sanctioned. The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) placed Emmanson on an indefinite flight ban.

Comfort Emmanson’s case resurrected public outbursts about alleged discriminatory handling of incidents of unruly passenger behaviour at Nigeria’s airports. There was a perception that Emmanson’s punishment came too speedily without adequate investigations while more severe offenders with society connections and influence were hardly punished.

The whole train of recent unruly behaviour incidents moved when on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, Air Peace accused Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a current senator representing Edo North Constituency in Nigeria, of unruly conduct. The airline accused him of disrupting airport operations, saying “the politician resorted to violence, physically assaulting the airline’s staff and forcefully barricading the terminal’s entrance. He sealed the entry gate and manned the access point, effectively obstructing other passengers from gaining entry into the terminal.”

Videos were seen on the social and conventional media showing the contention between the Senator and airline staff at the passenger check-in counter of the airport.

The Senator had claimed that he made an online flight booking but was denied boarding even though he arrived the airport few minutes before departure. Senator Oshiomnole later granted a press interview in Abuja, accusing the airline staff of extorting other passengers. After Air Peace challenged him via national television to provide evidence of his online booking, very little was heard about the conflict. Industry observers were not satisfied with how the law was silent over the Senator’s case.

On Tuesday, August 5, 2025 during a scheduled Valuejet Flight VK201, King Wasiu Omagbolahan Olasunkanmi Adewale Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as K1 De Ultimate was involved in actions that threatened aviation safety. Apart from arguments with airline staff and security about not allowing him to carry a flask with liquid into the aircraft, video evidence available to the public showed this popular musician, standing in front of Valuejet aircraft, trying to prevent it from taking off. The plane eventually took off, in a manner that risked this violator’s life. We are yet to find this kind of incident in history of global civil aviation. One of the videos circulated later showed where K1 was boasting that he would deal with the owner of Valuejet Airlines.

The NCAA wrote a petition to Attorney General of the Federation and Inspector General of Police to investigate and prosecute K1. The letter also said the Director General of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo had “ issued an advisory to the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), urging the immediate consideration and institution of a No-Fly- List for K1 De Ultimate on any commercial flight, pending the outcome of official investigations.”

KI was blacklisted for six months and the Valuejet pilot was suspended for her role in the saga.

The perceived kit gloves treatment of the cases of Senator Adams Oshiomhole and K1 De Ultimate had triggered the volume of public contestations that followed the remand of Ms. Comfort Emmanson at Kirikiri prison, as the authorities were accused of double standards of justice. State actors and organizations that had been silent over the previous incidents were forced to react. The Comfort Emmanson case was the centre of arguments and discussions in the conventional and social media

One of them was from Barrister Solomon Dalung, former Minister of Sports & Youths Development, who in his letter demanding justice for Emmanson said: “If Ms. Emmanson were the daughter of a prominent figure, she would never have been subjected to such cruelty.”

On same August 12, 2025, the Nigeria Police Force announced that it had “received an official petition from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over an alleged incident involving Mr. Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (popularly known as KWAM 1). He is accused of engaging in unruly conduct that allegedly obstructed the safe operation of an aircraft, in violation of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, 2023 following a reported incident on 5 August 2025 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.”

The letter signed by DCP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer, Abuja said the “the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, has directed the Commissioner of Police, Airport Command, to immediately commence a thorough investigation into the matter, to unravel the circumstances which led to the ugly incident and ensure justice is served accordingly.”

Same day, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) demanded that Ibom Air immediately withdraw the lifetime ban on Emmanson, issue a public apology to her and cooperate fully with an impartial investigation into the incident.

NBA called on the Aviation Minister, NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and relevant security agencies to conduct a thorough enquiry, sanction all those found culpable and enforce strict compliance with established standards for humane treatment of air passengers.

“The NBA stands ready to provide Ms. Emmanson with pro bono legal support to ensure her rights are protected and that she obtains redress for the violations suffered,” said NBA.

Meanwhile, the Remand Order for Comfort at Kirikiri Prison had her name as “Comfort Bob” rather than Comfort Emmanson, with other discrepancies involving arraignment date and so on, which suggest either errors from process hastiness or intended deliberate victimization.

Two men have emerged, claiming to have been on that flight. Tunde Ibrahim and Barrister David Ogebe narrated eye-witness accounts indicating Emmanson never refused to switch off her phone; that her ill treatment by a crew member during the flight had triggered actions seen in the videos circulated.

On August 13, 2025, Minister Keyamo announced that in the case of Ibom Air and Comfort Emmanson, he had “conferred with Ibom Airline to withdraw the Complaint against her,” as “she exhibited great remorse for her conduct.” He added that “the CP of Airport Command and the Police Prosecutor will immediately take the remaining steps to facilitate her release from Kirikiri Prisons within this week” and that he had conferred with the leadership of AON and has “appealed to them to lift the life-time flying ban imposed on her, to which they agreed.”

In the case of Valuejet Airline and KWAM 1, “the NCAA is to reduce his flight ban to a one-month period. FAAN will also work with the music star with a view to engaging him as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol going forward” and “having publicly demonstrated penitence, the NCAA is also to withdraw its criminal complaints against KWAM 1 earlier lodged with the Police.”

Keyamo said as for the Valuejet pilot, Capt. Oluranti Ogoyi, and the co-pilot, First Officer Ivan Oloba, the NCAA “is to restore their licenses after the same period of one-month ban after undergoing some mandatory professional re-appraisal.”

He said the “decisions were taken by Government and the airline operators purely on COMPASSIONATE grounds as Government will never pander to base sentiments, politically-motivated views or warped legal opinions when clear encroachment of our laws are involved.”

We maintain that aviation is an international business guided by standards and globally accepted practices rather than in the Minister’s words, “base sentiments, politically-motivated views or warped legal opinions when clear encroachment of our laws are involved.” according to the Minister.

Last paragraph of AVIATION MONITOR Editorial of June 15, 2025 reads: “For those who choose to travel by air however, every airline rule has to be respected. Aviation is a regulated industry and we restate here that there is a provision for punishment of an established unruly behaviour, even when it is exhibited by a Senator. If after investigation of the Air Peace-Oshiomhole case, unruly behaviour by the Senator is established and he is not punished, anyone who has been charged, punished or convicted for exhibiting unruly behaviour at a Nigerian airport has to be granted pardon.”

Hopefully, Comfort Emmanson will present her version of the incidents but lessons for the industry from unrully passenger incidents of recent weeks are innumerable.

We agree with the reaction of Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) to Kwam 1- Valuejet and Emmanson-Ibom Air incidents that the incidents call attention to the “worrisome danger and risks aviation workers face in the course of their daily duties. The reports and video footages in both incidences show clearly, the physical and psychological assault and trauma visited on both ground staff and air crew.”

It is hoped that the Minister’s directive that a retreat be held for aviation security personnel on such incidents handling, would help enhance professionalism in handling such cases in future.

There are institutional mistakes that have dire consequences on moral authority. Examples are hasty sanctions for violations or decisions without proper investigation, discrimination in administration of justice, and compromise of judgements based on sentiments or political leanings rather than the rule of law.

Both Nigeria’s aviation industry leadership and airport users must understand that every action and official decision has implications and consequences. It affects foreign investment decisions. Also, once any organization, public or private, gets political, it loses integrity in the eyes of the public.

Nigeria’s aviation authorities must protect the sector from future discomfort of this nature that Comfort Emmanson has provided, by complying strictly with already established aviation rules, regulations, guidelines and laws. AM