Comfort Emmanson, a female passenger who allegedly assaulted airline officials aboard an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, has been charged to court and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
The development was confirmed by Tunde Moshood, spokesperson for the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
“The more reason the flying public should be more careful: the unruly passenger on the Uyo–Lagos-bound Ibom Air flight, Miss Comfort Emmanson, has been charged in court and is now cooling off in Kirikiri,” Moshood wrote.
Her arraignment comes shortly after the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) warned that enforcement actions against unruly passengers at airports across the country would become more frequent.
The incident gained public attention after videos circulated online showing Emmanson in a heated altercation with Ibom Air crew members and airport security officials.
According to a statement from Ibom Air, the disruption began shortly before takeoff from Uyo when Emmanson refused to comply with standard aviation safety protocols requiring passengers to turn off mobile devices. A fellow passenger seated next to her reportedly turned off the phone, which triggered a verbal outburst from Emmanson.
The airline said the situation escalated upon arrival in Lagos, where Emmanson physically attacked the flight’s purser—the crew member who had initially asked her to switch off her device.
“Her conduct posed a serious threat to the safety of our crew, passengers, and aircraft,” Ibom Air stated.
Following the incident, the airline imposed a no-fly ban on Emmanson, declaring that she would no longer be permitted to board any of its flights.
The case underscores growing concerns in Nigeria’s aviation sector about the increasing frequency of unruly passenger behavior and the need for strict enforcement to ensure the safety of flight operations.
