Comfort Emmanson, the female passenger who physically assaulted a crew member on an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, has been charged to court and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
The incident, which gained widespread attention after a viral video showed her repeatedly slapping a flight purser, occurred after she was asked to switch off her phone before take-off.
Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), confirmed the development via his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday.
"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," he wrote.
Ibom Air has since issued a statement announcing a permanent ban on Emmanson from flying with the airline. The airline described her actions as a serious threat to the safety of the crew, passengers, and the aircraft itself.
According to the airline, after another passenger beside her complied with the instruction to turn off their phone, Emmanson became verbally aggressive. Upon landing in Lagos, she confronted the purser again and physically attacked her. The airline further alleged that she tried to remove a fire extinguisher, possibly intending to use it as a weapon—an action seen as a major safety risk.
This incident comes amid increasing reports of disruptive behavior at Nigerian airports. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has warned that stricter measures will be taken against such misconduct.
This is not the first time a passenger has disrupted flight operations. Recently, popular Fuji musician King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1) also came under fire for attempting to stop a ValueJet flight from departing after he was deboarded.
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