The former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has faulted the sanction meted out on an unruly Ibom Air passenger, Comfort Emmanson, who has been banned from flying for life.

Emmanson, who boarded an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos on Sunday, violently attacked a purser who asked her to switch off her phone. She was detained and arraigned by the police after the incident. She was also banned from flying for life.

A week before the incident, a musician, Wasiu Ayinde, attempted to stop a plane from flying after he was barred from boarding the flight for flouting the airline’s rules.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) petitioned both the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police to initiate prosecution under the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations.

The Guardian learnt that Ibom Air initiated the court process in Emmanson’s case, while Valuejet did not initiate a court process in Ayinde’s case, hence he walks free.

Drawing a parallel between both incidents, Obi described the judgment passed on Emmanson as selective.

“This morning, I woke up to learn that the passenger, the young Ms. Comfort Emmanson in her twenties, has been banned from flying for life—once again showing how our system works, proving the truth of Anacharsis’ words that “the law is like a spider’s web: it catches the weak, while the powerful break through with ease.”

Obi added that people older than her who commit worse crimes are celebrated and shielded from the consequences of their actions, but the authorities acted swiftly to impose sanctions on her.

“If this young woman, who indeed acted wrongly, now seeks to apologise, who will hear her cry in a country where the pain of the poor is invisible and the dignity of the less privileged is often disregarded? Justice must be consistent, or it becomes oppression in disguise,” he noted.

The former Labour Party presidential candidate also advocated for equitable justice and compassion in delivering judgment on similar matters.

“This must change. Justice must be equal for all. There must be room for compassion, for rehabilitation, and for understanding when misconduct stems from frustration or displaced aggression. Power must never determine who is punished and who is pardoned. May God heal our land,” he added.