The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said the incident involving Comfort Emmanson, the passenger who allegedly assaulted Ibom Air crew members, is different from the case of Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as KWAM 1.
NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mike Achimugu, said this during an X Space session on Monday, August 11.
He explained that the regulatory body did not direct the airline to prosecute or ban Emmanson, noting that Ibom Air acted independently based on available evidence.
He said: “In this case, the airline exercised its rights to do what they needed to do, right? And AON, based on some of the evidences already available, because while the investigations are ongoing, you can still be working with what is available to you.
“Now, for you who say you are in the industry, when you see a passenger hitting a cabin crew member in the way the lady was doing, and the fight she had with the people who came to restrain her, you may have to agree that the airlines had every right to announce a ban.
“Yeah, of course, one would expect that at the end of all of these things, maybe the ban could be shortened or even removed altogether.
“But as of the moment, if they feel that that is the right thing, because again, do not forget, airline staff are also human beings, and they are also fellow Nigerians.
“Some of them are your brothers and your sisters, too. And they deserve the same courtesy that passengers also deserve. Now, nobody deserves to be beaten up or hit in the manner that occurred in this flight.”
Achimugu said the Airline Operators of Nigeria acted within its rights, citing other past incidents where lack of evidence hindered regulatory action.
“Remember, there was an airport incident where three drunk people had mid-air between London and Nigeria, caused a situation that could have crashed that flight.
“To date, Air Peace feels aggrieved that nobody issued an advisory for those passengers to be blacklisted. But you see, evidence of what happened on board was not made available to the NCAA. So it became a case of he said, she said.
“I just want to put it out there very clearly that the NCAA did not issue an advisory to AON, and AON is within its right to ban any passenger, to blacklist a passenger. Just to make this clear,” he said.
He added that while Ibom Air swiftly charged Emmanson to court, ValueJet did not press charges in KWAM 1’s case, prompting NCAA to petition the authorities.
Achimugu stated that the airline has the right to pursue prosecution, adding that the matter could still be resolved amicably.
“Cabin crew are in charge of, apart from your comfort, safety and security and everything on the aircraft. We have the authority there. Blocking the path of somebody who has assaulted you is also a form of restraint.
“She wanted to restrain the passenger without laying hands on her, she is within her rights to do so. I do not know if it is standard practice. I will have to check with director Afsek at the NCAA to check the documents and see. But look, there are different ways to restrain an unruly passenger. Standard practices can always evolve and change,” he said.
Persecondnews reported that Emmanson, who was on board the Uyo to Lagos flight, had in a viral video repeatedly slapped a purser with Ibom Aircraft after she was allegedly told to switch off her phone before takeoff.
The airline, in a statement issued on Monday, banned the passenger from flying its aircraft.
Ibom Air 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.
According to the airline, 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.
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