Ibom Air on Monday said a female passenger arriving at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in an Ibom Air flight, has allegedly assaulted a flight attendant and clashed with security operatives at the airport.
Several videos of the clash, which occurred on Sunday, are trending on the internet.
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“Drag her out,” someone’s voice could be heard saying in one of the videos, as the passenger in a torn sky-blue top shirt was seen being dragged out of the aircraft by the airline officials.
“She is hitting me,” a female flight attendant is seen in another video.
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“What did you do?” the passenger said in the video, before hitting the flight attendant again.
“Video me, I came with a wig,” the passenger said in the video, referring to artificial hair worn by women.
The flight attendant is seen blocking the exit door of the aircraft, preventing the passenger from exiting.
“She was giving her slaps left and right,” another flight attendant is seen explaining the incident to the airline officials and airport security operatives
Reacting to the incident, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, blamed the incident on the passenger’s refusal to comply with the crew’s instructions.
“When cabin crew ask you to turn off your phone before takeoff or landing, simply comply. I can’t understand why simple routine issues would lead to incidents like this,” Mr Achimugu wrote in a response to the incident on a tweet on X on Sunday
“Passengers need to understand they have responsibilities, not just rights. More details will be addressed tomorrow,” he added, urging passengers to take instructions from cabin crew seriously, particularly routine safety procedures such as switching off mobile devices during takeoff and landing.
Ibom Air speaks
In a statement on Monday, Ibom Air blamed the incident on an “unruly passenger,” stating that her conduct posed a serious security threat to the safety of the crew, passengers, and the aircraft.
The airline identified the passenger as Comfort Emmanson in the statement posted on its Facebook page.
Shortly before take-off from Uyo, the airline claimed 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,” the airline said.
PREMIUM TIMES could not reach the passenger for comments at the time of filing this report.
Below is the full detail of Ibom Air’s statement on the incident.
PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release
Uyo, 11 August 2025
Incident Involving an Unruly Passenger on August 10, 2025
Ibom Air confirms that on Sunday, August 10, 2025, an incident occurred on board our Uyo–Lagos flight involving a passenger, Ms. Comfort Emmanson, whose conduct posed a serious threat to the safety of our crew, passengers, and aircraft.
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.
Ibom Air has since submitted a report on the incident to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and placed a travel restriction on Ms. Emmanson, who will no longer be permitted to fly on any of our aircraft.
READ ALSO: Drama on Ibom Air flight as passenger clashes with cabin crew
Ibom Air reiterates its zero-tolerance policy towards any form of unruly or violent conduct that threatens the safety of passengers, crew, or equipment. Such behavior will be met with the strongest possible response, including legal action and permanent restriction from our services.
We commend the bravery and professionalism of our crew in handling this situation under extremely challenging circumstances, as well as the swift support from airport security and the Nigeria Police.
Safety remains our highest priority. We urge all passengers to comply with crew instructions at all times for the safety, security, and comfort of everyone on board.
Signed
Ibom Airlines Limited
August 11, 2025
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