The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Wednesday , 13 August, 2025 disclosed that Comfort Emmanson, the passenger accused of unruly behaviour onboard an Ibom Air flight, will be released this week, reports thegazellenews.com.
In a press statement on issued on his X handle on Wednesday, 13 August, 2025, Keyamo added that the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON) has agreed to lift the lifetime ban placed on her.
Thehazellenews.com recalled that viral videos circulating on social showed Emmanson slapping and kicking airline and airport officials, including a female air hostess, after she allegedly refused repeated instructions to switch off her phone before take-off. In one clip, she was seen being dragged off the aircraft by security personnel.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has explained why Comfort Emmanson, a female passenger who allegedly assaulted Ibom Air crew members, was remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre while Fuji music legend Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as Kwam 1, who reportedly disrupted a ValueJet flight in Abuja last week, faced no such court action.
This came days after Ayinde was accused of obstructing ValueJet’s morning service (Flight VK 201) to Lagos on August 5, an incident that also led to public criticism.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, 12 August, 2025, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mike Achimugu, said the two incidents were different.
His words: “There is no comparison here; it’s not a case of oranges and oranges. In the KWAM 1 incident, the airline did not activate its rights to take the passenger to court, so the NCAA did what it was supposed to do by petitioning the authorities to petition the passenger.
“In the Ibom Air incident, maybe because their staff had been assaulted, the airline immediately activated its right to take up the matter, and it went to court.”
He noted that the NCAA was not directly involved in Emmanson’s case, whereas in KWAM 1’s situation, the authority issued an advisory to the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to ban the musician from flights.
Achimugu further clarified that, contrary to earlier reports, KWAM 1 was not placed on a six-month ban but on an indefinite ban pending the outcome of investigations.
Explaining why Emmanson was placed on a no-fly life ban, Achimugu said airline operators have the legal authority to take such action.
