“Ibom Air Staff to be punished for sharing ‘unruly’ passenger controversial video online” – Aviation Minister
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has condemned the viral video showing the indecent exposure of Comfort Emmanson, the passenger accused of assaulting airline officials on an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos.
In a statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) page on Monday, Minister Keyamo confirmed that Comfort Emmanson was arraigned before the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on criminal charges.
He noted that her remand resulted from her failure to provide adequate sureties in court.
While supporting the use of video footage showing her disruptive behaviour as evidence to prosecute her, the minister expressed outrage over the release of parts of the footage that exposed the woman indecently to the public.
He described this as “totally unacceptable” and “deplorable,” emphasizing that it ridiculed and demeaned womanhood.
“Whilst we support the filming of her recalcitrant behaviour as evidence to prosecute her, what is deplorable is to release such evidence containing indecent exposure to the public to ridicule her. That is totally unacceptable to us,” the minister said.
“We will not fold our arms and tolerate the debasing of womanhood. I have therefore directed that whoever released that part of the video containing the indecent exposure amongst the staff should be singled out and adequately sanctioned.”
“I have also directed that the airlines must continue to train and retrain their staff in public relations and how to deal with potentially explosive situations in order to diffuse them promptly or nip them in the bud, except when it becomes inevitable.
“I have also directed a joint security meeting between relevant agencies next week for better coordination of security measures in situations like this or similar ones we witnessed recently.
“For genuinely aggrieved passengers, there are clearly laid-down remedies to address grievances. The Consumer Protection Directorate of the NCAA has consistently advertised these remedies and there is no point trying to take the laws into one’s hands that may lead to dire consequences.”
