The claim of Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, to have “conferred with Ibom Airline to withdraw the Complaint against Comfort Emmanson”, does not represent the true state of events as Ibom Air never wanted to go to court in the first place, FIJ has been told.
An Ibom Air flight from Uyo landed safely in Lagos on Sunday August 10 but became engulfed in turbulence, as an altercation between an Ibom Air hostess, whom FIJ has now identified as Juliana Edward, and passenger Comfort Emmanson snowballed into fisticuffs and Emmanson’s forced evacuation from the plane.
Videos recorded by Ibom Air and airport staff managed to find their way to the Internet, their highlight being the deliberate ripping apart of Emmanson’s clothes to expose her bosoms for public viewing and mockery. A visibly upset Emmanson was also filmed slapping and charging at multiple airport personnel who subsequently attempted to intervene.
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Emmanson was arraigned in court and then remanded in Kirikiri prison, sparking public outrage about her treatment, with the likes of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) promising to defend her. The case was laid to rest on Wednesday, even if temporarily, when Keyamo announced the withdrawal of criminal charges against Emmanson.
“In the last 48 hours, I have been in consultation with critical stakeholders in the Aviation Sector and those involved in the unfortunate incidents regarding the unruly behaviours of certain individuals at our airports of recent,” Keyamo wrote on X.
“Though regrettable, we think valuable lessons have been learnt by all sides to these incidents and airport security protocol, especially, have been well highlighted for the travelling public. If nothing at all, the episodes have undoubtedly helped to raise public awareness about appropriate conduct within the aviation space.”
Continuing, he said: “In the case of the unruly passenger, Ms. Comfort Emmanson, on the Ibom Airline on Sunday, the 10th of August, 2025, I have conferred with Ibom Airline to withdraw the Complaint against her today. When the Police took her Statement in presence of her lawyer, she exhibited great remorse for her conduct.
“(b) Subsequent to the withdrawal of the complaint by the Complainant, the CP of Airport Command and the Police Prosecutor will immediately take the remaining steps to facilitate her release from Kirikiri Prisons within this week.
(c) I have also conferred with the leadership of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and have appealed to them to lift the life-time flying ban imposed on her, to which they agreed. The details of the resolution will be made public by the AON subsequently.”
‘IBOM AIR NEVER WANTED A COURT CASE’
While Keyamo’s statement suggests he had to talk Ibom Air into withdrawing the case, sources familiar with the matter have told FIJ that even though Emmanson was all guns blazing in favour of going to court, the management of Ibom Air never wanted a court case in the first place.
“From experience, in situations like this, airlines do not like court cases; they do not like the bad press that comes with prolonging a case like this until it gets to court. I believe this was the first reason Ibom Air wanted the case resolved before getting to court,” said the source, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution.
“But Ibom Air also knew they had a bad case. They knew their staff had their own failings in the degeneration of the matter to a marketplace fight. Therefore, Ibom Air did not need convincing for the withdrawal of the suit against the lady. Meanwhile, Comfort Emmanson was adamant about pursuing a legal case. She wanted it badly and was adamant she had been wronged.”
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So how did the matter get to court and Comfort remanded in Kirikiri if Ibom Air didn’t want to pursue a case?
“It had already become a police case,” the source answered. ‘The police were insistent they had to go to court.”
Keyamo had also claimed Emmanson was penitent when presenting her statement in the presence of her lawyer. This, FIJ’s source also denied.
“Comfort Emmanson was never at any point remorseful,” the source added. “She maintained she was unfairly treated throughout; until the very end, she displayed an eagerness to fight using all legally permissible means.”
As promised by Keyamo, Emmanson regained freedom from Kirikiri on Wednesday afternoon, after which she went on Instagram to promise she would “give out my own version of the event” after getting some rest and medical treatment.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Keyamo Lied. Ibom Air Did Not Want To Take Comfort Emmanson to Court appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.