Unruly Passenger Charged to Court for Assaulting Ibom Air Crew, Remanded in Kirikiri Prison

Comfort Emmanson, a female passenger who assaulted Ibom Air crew members and clashed with airport security at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, has been arraigned in court and remanded at Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison.

The spokesperson for the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, Mr. Tunde Moshood, confirmed the development on X (formerly Twitter).

He warned the public to exercise caution, stating: “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 incident occurred on Sunday when Emmanson, aboard an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, became aggressive after being instructed to switch off her phone before takeoff. According to the airline, she initially refused to comply until a fellow passenger intervened by turning off her device.

Despite the flight proceeding as scheduled, Emmanson waited until arrival in Lagos to confront the cabin crew. She allegedly attacked the purser—stepping on her, tearing off her wig, removing her glasses, and repeatedly slapping her. When another crew member intervened, Emmanson assaulted her as well. She then attempted to use a fire extinguisher as a weapon, an act that could have endangered the aircraft.

Airport security was alerted, but before their arrival, the purser prevented Emmanson from leaving the plane. Even after security personnel arrived, she continued her violent outburst, attacking both Ibom Air and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) staff. She was eventually restrained and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.

Ibom Air has since reported the incident to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and imposed a travel ban on Emmanson, barring her from future flights with the airline.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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