The passenger, Comfort Emmanson, who was accused of assaulting Ibom Air officials while aboard a flight from Uyo to Lagos, has been charged in court and remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
This was disclosed by Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN.
According to Punch, Moshood 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,” he said.
Moshood’s statement came after the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority warned that stricter enforcement actions would be taken against passengers engaging in disruptive conduct, which has been on the rise in Nigerian airports.
It was reported that Emmanson had in a viral video repeatedly slapped a Purser with Ibom Aircraft after she was allegedly told to switch off her phone before take-off.
The airline, in a statement on Monday, banned the passenger from flying with its airline after she was found assaulting one of the crew members of their aircraft.
The Ibom Air reportedly said the incident began before take-off from Uyo when Emmanson refused to comply with safety procedures requiring passengers to switch off their mobile phones.
The airline noted that a fellow passenger seated beside her switched off the phone, sparking a verbal tirade.
The carrier said that upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson confronted the purser, who had earlier instructed her to switch off her phone and physically assaulted her.
It also maintained that the passenger attempted to forcibly remove a fire extinguisher to use as a weapon, an act they described as “an intention to damage and ground the aircraft”.
Ibom Air added that her behaviour posed a serious threat to the safety of its crew, passengers, and aircraft.
This occurrence follows a similar recent incident involving Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as K1, who attempted to stop a ValueJet aircraft from taking off after being deboarded.
