Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has confirmed that the suspect, identified as Emmanson, has been remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Facility.
The more reason the flying public should be more careful, the unruly passenger on the Uyo–Lagos bound Ibom Air, Miss Comfort Emmanson, has been charged to court and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri,” Moshood wrote
His statement comes amid warnings by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority that stricter enforcement actions will be taken against passengers engaging in disruptive conduct, which has been on the rise in Nigerian airports.
Ibom Air in an email sent earlier on Monday, banned the passenger from flying with its airline after she was found assaulting one of the crew members of their aircraft.
The Airline disclosed that the incident began before take-off from Uyo when Emmanson refused to comply with safety procedures requiring passengers to switch off their mobile phones.
“Shortly before take-off from Uyo, Ms. Emmanson was instructed in line with standard aviation safety procedures, to switch off her mobile phone. She bluntly refused to comply until the Pilot-in-Command made an announcement, after which a fellow passenger seated beside her took the phone and switched it off. This action prompted a verbal tirade from Ms. Emmanson. The situation was eventually calmed, and the flight departed as scheduled.
Upon arrival in Lagos, Ms. Emmanson waited for all other passengers to disembark and then proceeded to confront the Purser who had earlier instructed her. She walked up to the unsuspecting Purser, stepped on her, forcibly tore off her wig, removed her glasses and threw it to the floor, and used her footwear to assault her. She slapped her several times and when the other cabin crew member tried to intervene, she slapped her too. She then attempted to forcibly remove a fire extinguisher to use as a weapon, an act that could have damaged and grounded the aircraft.
By this time, the Pilot-in-Command had alerted airport security. Before security could arrive, the Purser as seen on the viral video on the internet, prevented the passenger from leaving the aircraft until security arrived. The arrival of Ibom Air Security personnel, did not deter the passenger as she attacked them as well, lashing out violently at the security personnel. She was then restrained and removed from the aircraft by force. Even after disembarking, she continued to assault Ibom Air security personnel, and even slapped the ground supervisor.
The passenger was removed from the ramp and taken into custody by FAAN security and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.”the statement said
The incident follows a similar recent one involving Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, also known as KWAM 1 or K1, who attempted to stop a ValueJet aircraft from taking off after being deboarded.
