The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it neither charged nor banned Comfort Emmanson, the passenger accused of assaulting Ibom Air crew on a flight from Uyo to Lagos.
Speaking during an X Space session on Monday, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mike Achimugu, said the authority does not control airline prosecutions and that the case will be decided by the court.
Achimugu explained that the incident involving Emmanson is different from the case of Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, also known as KWAM 1, who was banned from flying over a separate onboard misconduct allegation.
He said Ibom Air acted independently in imposing a travel restriction on Emmanson based on video evidence, while the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) also placed her on a lifetime “no-fly” list, describing it as one of the most severe cases of unruly behaviour this year.
“In this case, the airline exercised its rights to do what they needed to do, right? And AON, based on some of the evidences already available, because while the investigations are ongoing, you can still be working with what is available to you,” he said.
“Now, for you who say you are in the industry, when you see a passenger hitting a cabin crew member in the way the lady was doing, and the fight she had with the people who came to restrain her, you may have to agree that the airlines had every right to announce a ban.
“Yeah, of course, one would expect that at the end of all of these things, maybe the ban could be shortened or even removed altogether.
“But as of the moment, if they feel that that’s the right thing, because again, don’t forget, airline staff are also human beings, and they’re also fellow Nigerians.
“Some of them are your brothers and your sisters, too. And they deserve the same courtesy that passengers also deserve. Now, nobody deserves to be beaten up or hit in the manner that occurred in this flight.
“Based on video evidence available, AON has made such a decision. It is within their rights, because they also have been suffering some of these incidents a lot of the time.
“Remember, there was an airport incident where three drunk people had mid-air between London and Nigeria, caused a situation that could have crashed that flight.
“To date, Airpeace feels aggrieved that nobody issued an advisory for those passengers to be blacklisted. But you see, evidence of what happened on board was not made available to the NCAA. So it became a case of he said, she said.
“I just want to put it out there very clearly that the NCAA did not issue an advisory to AON, and AON is within its right to ban any passenger, to blacklist a passenger. Just to make this clear.“
Achimugu said while the airline has the right to pursue prosecution, parties can still settle out of court if they agree, allowing for possible withdrawal of the case.
“Cabin crew are in charge of, apart from your comfort, safety and security and everything on the aircraft. We have the authority there. Blocking the path of somebody who has assaulted you is also a form of restraint,” he explained.
A magistrate court in Ogba, Lagos, has remanded Emmanson in Kirikiri Correctional Centre until October 6.
