The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has strongly condemned the public release of an indecent video involving Comfort Emmanson, a passenger accused of assaulting a crew member aboard an Ibom Air flight on Sunday.
While acknowledging that filming her unruly behaviour for prosecutorial evidence was justified, Keyamo described the release of the indecent portion of the footage as “deplorable” and “totally unacceptable.”
“We will not fold our arms and tolerate the debasing of womanhood,” Keyamo stated. “Whoever released that part of the video containing indecent exposure must be identified and adequately sanctioned.”
The Minister directed Ibom Air to immediately investigate and single out the staff responsible. He also ordered airlines to intensify staff training in public relations and conflict de-escalation, to prevent incidents from spiralling into public spectacles.
Keyamo further announced plans for a joint security meeting with relevant agencies next week to improve coordination in handling volatile situations.
He urged aggrieved passengers to pursue grievances through the Consumer Protection Directorate of the NCAA, warning that any passenger who assaults airline staff would face sanctions including lengthy flight bans and possible criminal prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has imposed a lifetime no-fly ban on Emmanson across all member airlines, both domestic and international. This follows Ibom Air’s own decision to place her on an indefinite travel restriction.
According to Ibom Air, the trouble began shortly before take-off from Uyo when Emmanson allegedly refused to switch off her mobile phone despite repeated instructions.
After the Pilot-in-Command intervened via public announcement, a fellow passenger eventually switched off the device, prompting an angry verbal outburst from Emmanson.
The situation was briefly calmed, but upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson allegedly waited for all passengers to disembark before confronting the Purser who had instructed her earlier.
The airline says she stepped on the Purser, forcibly tore off her wig, removed her glasses, threw them to the floor, and then struck her with footwear before security intervened.
Viral videos of the altercation have since sparked outrage online and, as Keyamo emphasised, while evidence gathering is vital, public humiliation is not.
