A Lagos magistrate court has ordered Comfort Emmanson, a passenger accused of assaulting airline officials on an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, to be remanded at the Kirikiri correctional centre until October 6.
Emmanson was arraigned by the police on a five-count charge of assault and wilful damage to property.
According to the charge sheet, Emmanson allegedly yelled at the top of her lungs, verbally abused and physically assaulted flight crew members, and refused to exit the plane after landing, in contravention of section 4(1)(a) and punishable under section 4(2) of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Byelaw, 2005.
She was also accused of slapping one Juliana Edward and hitting her cheeks with her right hand, in violation of sections 170(1)(a)(b) and 172 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.
The defendant allegedly committed additional offenses, including striking Jokpame Segun in the face with her slippers, damaging an aircraft divider curtain valued at $2,500, and tearing a braided wig worth N110,000 belonging to a crew member. These actions allegedly contravene the FAAN Byelaw, 2005, and sections 170, 172, and 350 of the Lagos State Criminal Law.
Videos of the incident circulating online show Emmanson in a heated confrontation with flight attendants and later with airport security personnel.
Ibom Air stated that the altercation started before takeoff from Uyo when Emmanson wouldn’t turn off her phone, as required by aviation safety procedures, and a fellow passenger eventually turned it off, triggering a furious reaction from Emmanson.
Upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson allegedly confronted and physically assaulted the purser who had instructed her to follow safety rules, and was subsequently removed from the aircraft and handed over to the police.
