Comfort Emmanson, a passenger who assaulted airline staff on an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, has been charged to court and remanded at Kirikiri Correctional Facility, officials confirmed on Monday.
The development follows a viral incident on Monday, in which Emmanson physically attacked crew members and security personnel during and after the flight.
Tunde Moshood, special adviser on media and communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Emmanson’s case is an example prompting increased enforcement actions against unruly passengers at Nigerian airports.
“The more reason the flying public should be more careful,” Moshood stated, adding, “Miss Comfort Emmanson has been charged to court and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri.”
Ibom Air’s official statement detailed that the incident began shortly before takeoff at Uyo Airport when Emmanson refused to comply with the mandatory safety instruction to switch off her mobile phone.
A fellow passenger seated beside her intervened by turning off the device, which triggered a verbal outburst from Emmanson. The situation calmed, and the flight departed on schedule.
Upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson confronted the purser who had earlier asked her to turn off her phone. According to Ibom Air, she physically assaulted the crew member, stepping on her, forcibly removing her wig, removing and throwing her glasses, and hitting her multiple times. When another crew member intervened, Emmanson assaulted that individual as well.
The airline further reported that Emmanson attempted to seize a fire extinguisher with the apparent intent to use it as a weapon, describing the act as “an intention to damage and ground the aircraft.”
The pilot alerted airport security as the assaults continued. Security personnel arrived to restrain Emmanson, but she also attacked them, including a ground supervisor.
Ibom Air said Emmanson was eventually removed from the aircraft by force and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security team.
The airline submitted a detailed report of the incident to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and imposed a travel ban on Emmanson, barring her from flying on any Ibom Air aircraft in the future.
The airline emphasised its zero-tolerance policy toward unruly behaviour that endangers passengers, crew, or equipment.
It commended its crew and security personnel for managing the situation professionally and praised their swift response under difficult circumstances.
