Comfort Emmanson, the 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 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 comment comes amid warnings from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that stricter enforcement measures will be taken against passengers who engage in disruptive behaviour, a trend reportedly on the rise in Nigerian airports.
Chronicle NG earlier reported that Emmanson, in a viral video, repeatedly slapped a Purser with Ibom Air after she was allegedly instructed to switch off her phone before take-off.
The airline, in a statement on Monday, announced a lifetime ban on the passenger following the assault on one of its crew members.
According to Ibom Air, the incident began before take-off from Uyo when Emmanson refused to comply with safety rules requiring passengers to turn off their mobile phones. A fellow passenger seated beside her switched off the phone, triggering a verbal outburst.
The carrier further explained that upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson confronted the purser who had earlier directed her to switch off her phone and physically attacked her. The airline alleged that she also tried to remove a fire extinguisher to use as a weapon—an act described as “an intention to damage and ground the aircraft.”
Ibom Air stressed that her actions posed a severe threat to the safety of its crew, passengers, and the aircraft.
The development comes shortly after another incident involving Fuji musician King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, also known as KWAM 1 or K1, who attempted to stop a ValueJet aircraft from taking off after he was deboarded.
