- Charged To Court, Remanded In Correctional Facility
THE Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has banned Comfort Emmanson from flying any of its member airlines both domestically and internationally.
AON issued the ban following the incident involving Emmanson and crew members of Ibom Air.
In a video circulating on social media, it appeared that Emmanson was being assaulted by crew members of Ibom Air.
However, AON’s spokesperson, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, insisted that Emmanson was the one assaulting the crew members.
In a statement, yesterday, Okonkwo said Emmanson’s ban is indefinite.
AON said: “We condemn the violent incident involving Ms. Comfort Emmanson, a passenger on Ibom Air flight Q9 303 from Uyo to Lagos on August 10, 2025.
“Therefore, effective immediately, the AON has placed Ms. Emmanson on its ‘No Fly’ list indefinitely. She is hereby banned from flying with any AON member either domestically or internationally for life.
“Such incidents have become one too many with the most recent being the incident involving Nigerian musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1) on VajueJet and the unruly behaviour of Senator Adams Oshiomhole towards the members of staff of Air Peace.”
Meanwhile A passenger who assaulted airline officials on an Ibom Air flight inbound Lagos from Uyo, Comfort Emmanson, has reportedly been charged to court.
The Special Adviser to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, who revealed this, said Emmanson has been remanded in the Kirikiri correctional facility.
Moshood disclosed this in a post on X yesterday, shortly after the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, said enforcement action will soon become more frequent in Nigerian airports as unruly conduct by passengers becomes rampant.
The development is coming on the heels of a similar incident involving popular Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, aka KWAM 1 or K1 and an airline, ValueJet. The musician attempted to stop the aircraft from taking off after he was deboarded.
Meanwhile, the female passenger, Comfort Emmanson, who assaulted Ibom Air’s crew and clashed with airport security at the MurtalaMuhammed Airport in Lagos has been charged to court.
The Spokesperson to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, Mr. Tunde Moshood, disclosed this on X.
Moshood also said she has been remanded at Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos.
He stated: “The more reason the flying public should be more careful, the unruly passenger on Uyo-Lagos bound Ibom Air, Miss Comfort Emmanson has been charged to court and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri.”
Emmanson, on an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos assaulted the airline’s crew and clashed with airport security at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Sunday.
Confirming the development, the airline said shortly before take-off from Uyo, Emmanson was instructed to switch off her mobile phone, but she refused.
According to the airline, she refused to comply until the pilot-in-command made an announcement, after which a fellow passenger seated beside her took the phone and switched it off.
The statement reads: “This action prompted a verbal tirade from Emmanson. The situation was eventually calmed, and the flight departed as scheduled.
“Upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson waited for all other passengers to disembark and then proceeded to confront the purser who had earlier instructed her. She walked up to the unsuspecting purser, stepped on her, forcibly tore off her wig, removed her glasses and threw them to the floor, and used her footwear to assault her. She slapped her several times, and when the other cabin crew member tried to intervene, she slapped her too. She then 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, as seen in 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 both Ibom Air and FAAN security. She was then restrained and removed from the aircraft by force. Even after disembarking, she continued to assault both Ibom Air and FAAN security staff 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.
“Ibom Air has since submitted a report on the incident to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and placed a travel restriction on Emmanson, who will no longer be permitted to fly on any of our aircraft.”
