A female passenger, identified as Comfort Emmanson, has been remanded at Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos after allegedly assaulting cabin crew members and attacking airport security personnel at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
Mr. Tunde Moshood, spokesperson to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed the development in a post on X, stating that Emmanson had been charged to court over the incident.
“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.
The altercation reportedly began on Sunday during a scheduled Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos. According to the airline, Emmanson refused to switch off her mobile phone before take-off despite repeated instructions from the crew. It took the intervention of a fellow passenger to turn off the device, prompting a heated outburst from her.
Ibom Air said that after landing in Lagos, Emmanson waited for other passengers to disembark before confronting the purser who had earlier instructed her to switch off her phone. The airline alleged that she stepped on the purser, tore off her wig, removed her glasses, threw them on the floor, and assaulted her with her footwear. She also slapped another crew member who tried to intervene and attempted to remove a fire extinguisher to use as a weapon — a move the airline warned could have endangered the aircraft.
Despite the pilot alerting airport security, the passenger allegedly attacked Ibom Air and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) personnel upon their arrival, resisting efforts to restrain her. Even after being removed from the aircraft, she reportedly continued assaulting security staff, including the airline’s ground supervisor.
FAAN security later handed her over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation. Ibom Air has filed a report with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and has placed a permanent travel ban on Emmanson.
The incident, captured in a viral video, has sparked public debate about passenger conduct and enforcement of in-flight safety regulations.
