Category Nigeria News

The Federal Government has ordered the withdrawal of the case against Comfort Emmanson on an Ibom Air flight on August 10, 2025.

The development came after Emmason was remanded in prison following the incident.

A statement by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Wednesday, said the move was necessitated following 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”.

Channels Television reported that Emmanson had allegedly attacked a flight attendant and clashed with security operatives at the airport.

The alleged assault led to her being arraigned and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos State on Monday.

Reacting to the incident in a statement posted on his X page on Monday, Keyamo confirmed that Ms Emmanson was arraigned before the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on criminal charges.

He condemned her actions, noting that she was remanded because she failed to provide adequate sureties in court.

However, the minister also criticised the circulation of the viral indecent video, which showed Ms Emmanson’s top torn and her upper body exposed.

He said he ordered action against the Ibom Air officials who leaked the footage.

Her prison remand has since sparked further outrage among civil societies, the public, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which condemned Ibom Air and the Airline Operators of Nigeria for the unfair manner in which the incident was handled.

In a U-turn on Wednesday, Keymao said parties involved in the incidents have learnt their lessons.

He also said the incident had raised public awareness of airport security protocols regarding travelling.

“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 in recent.

“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.

“As highlighted in my previous statements on the last two incidents, clear wrongs were committed by both the offending passengers and staff of the airlines involved, from all the evidence available to us and that available to the public. It is clear that all the actors involved cannot continue to highlight the injury or injustice done to them without acknowledging their own equal culpability,” the Minister’s statement read in part.

Following deliberations, “including appeals made by well-meaning individuals and remorse shown by the actors”, Keyamo said he had prevailed on Ibom Airline to withdraw the complaint against Emmason.

“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 the presence of her lawyer, she exhibited great remorse for her conduct.”

Keyamo noted that the female Ibom passenger will be released from Kirikiri prison immediately, and the lifetime flying ban will also be lifted.

“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.

A Labour Party group has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that any attempt to exclude it from the forthcoming 16 August 2025 by-election will lead to the nullification of the exercise in line with the provisions of the law.

“If INEC goes ahead to conduct the by-election without publishing the names of our candidates and ensuring that our logo appears on the ballot, we will seek the nullification of the election in accordance with the law,” the LP group National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ifoh also urged Nigerians to prevail on INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to respect the Constitution and the Electoral Act by discharging his duties as required. It accused the commission of working “for interests that are anti-democratic” and wasting taxpayers’ money.

According to him, the Electoral Act 2022 provides that any political party excluded from participating in an election is entitled to seek redress in court.

“INEC is gambling with the huge resources of the country being expended on the by-election scheduled for 16 August,” he stated. “We are not going to be helpless as the law has provided adequate remedies for any act or omission by the commission that has shortchanged the party or put its image in disrepute.”

READ ALSO: By-Elections: Abure-Led LP Group Protests At INEC HQ Over Omission Of Candidates

He stressed that it would not tolerate any action by a regulatory body aimed at damaging its reputation, questioning “what interest INEC is protecting that will make it throw the entire country into unnecessary crisis and incur such colossal financial waste.”

Ifoh also referenced the Supreme Court’s decision of 4 April 2025, which affirmed that leadership issues are an internal affair of a political party.

He noted that, in line with internal processes, a convention was held on 27 March 2024 in Nnewi, which produced the leadership led by Julius Abure.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has returned the petition of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) against Fuji singer Wasiu Ayinde, also known as Kwam 1, to the Police Command at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Tuesday, confirmed the receipt of the petition against the singer who tried to block a moving ValueJet aircraft on August 5, 2025, at the Abuja airport.

The singer’s action attracted widespread condemnation, with many calling for his arrest and prosecution.

The NCAA had immediately written to the IGP and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, calling for a “comprehensive criminal investigation and the initiation of appropriate prosecution” against the singer known to be an ally of President Bola Tinubu and who has performed in rallies of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The civil aviation regulator had also slammed an indefinite ban on the singer, warning that any local or international airline that flies the singer risks its license being withdrawn.

READ ALSO: Unlike Ibom Air, ValueJet Did Not Press Charges Against Kwam 1 — NCAA

Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo had condemned in strict words the unruly behaviour of the Fuji maestro, saying his act of blocking a moving aircraft by the singer was unacceptable and reprehensible.

Though Kwam 1 released an apology video over the weekend, the remand of an unruly Ibom Air passenger, Comfort Emmanson, in the Kirikiri Correctional Centre, Lagos, has ignited selective justice flames, with many calling for the instant prosecution of Kwam 1.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has condemned what it calls the “unprovoked attack” on the commission by the African Democratic Congress, ADC’s concerning its handling of cases involving politically exposed persons.

In a statement made available to the press, the commission described the ADC’s attacks as a rude shock and unwarranted blame game.

The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, particularly accused the opposition party of attempting to politicise ongoing corruption investigations and shield politically exposed persons from accountability.

Responding to ADC’s allegations that the EFCC’s recent summons to some opposition figures were “politically motivated” and based on “old cases,” Olukoyede described the claims as self-serving, diversionary, and an attempt to whitewash individuals with corruption questions to answer.

“There is no time limit in criminal investigations. Fraud is fraud. Corruption is corruption. There are no sacred cows or partisan considerations in our work,” the EFCC chairman said. “Nothing will make an innocent person answer any charge from the EFCC.”

Olukoyede maintained that the EFCC’s investigative net cuts across party lines, pointing to ongoing probes involving serving governors, ministers, and senior figures in the ruling party.

READ ALSO: EFCC Detains Ex-Gov Tambuwal Over Alleged ₦189bn Fraud

He stressed that he had faced no backlash when investigating those in government and should therefore not be condemned for probing opposition leaders.

Court records, he noted, show that politicians from across the political spectrum are facing trial for alleged economic and financial crimes. “Many serving state governors of various political colours are on the EFCC radar,” he added.

“We will not be blackmailed into making full disclosures of ongoing investigations, no matter the provocation.”

The EFCC chairman acknowledged ADC’s statement that the anti-graft agency “belongs to the Nigerian people” and is “funded by taxpayers, not the ruling party,” but argued that this is precisely why the commission must remain impartial and unyielding.

Olukoyede urged political parties to focus on their partisan activities and stop distracting the EFCC from its constitutional mandate.

“The opposition figures the ADC is trying to defend know in their hearts that they have issues that necessitated our invitations. The only immunity against investigation is accountability and probity,” he added.

He called on Nigerians to ignore politically charged statements aimed at heating up the polity and diverting attention from the “pillage of the national treasury.”

Read the full press statement below:

EFCC PRESS STATEMENT

We Run a Non-Partisan Mandate

“ If I am not condemned for investigating both former and serving strong ruling party Governors and Ministers, I should not be condemned for also investigating opposition figures

– EFCC Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede

The African Democratic Congress, ADC’s unprovoked attack on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, concerning its handling of cases involving politically exposed persons from every divide, came as a rude shock and unwarranted blame game.

Every objective and discerning watcher of events in the national political scene, would admit that the Commission has been circumspect and dispassionate in the exercise of its mandate.

The ADC’s claims that “Opposition Coalition have received EFCC summons that are clearly politically motivated. These are not fresh cases arising from new evidence but new files opened in reaction to emergent political affiliations to intimidate key opposition figures”, are clearly self-serving, diversionary, narrow and idle. The question is, what determines “fresh cases” and old cases? Every corruption allegation deserves to be investigated and there is no constraint of time and season in criminal investigations.

Available records in our courts showed that several political figures of all divide are answering charges of alleged economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption. It is also public knowledge that the EFCC is busy investigating some key figures of the ruling party owing to allegations of corrupt practices. Besides, many serving state governors of various political colouration are on the investigative radar of the Commission. The Commission will not be blackmailed into making full disclosures of its discreet investigations of any state or non-state actor, no matter the provocation.

The ADC was right to have admitted that “The EFCC does not belong to the APC. It belongs to the Nigerian people. It is funded by taxpayers, not the ruling party.” Nothing can be farther from this truth.

The ADC and other political groups should focus on their partisan activities and allow the Commission to carry out her mandate. Nothing will make an innocent person answer any charge from the EFCC. The “opposition figures” the ADC is trying unsuccessfully to white-wash know in their hearts that they have issues that necessitated their invitations by the Commission. The immunity against any investigation by the EFCC is accountability and probity. Fraud is fraud. Corruption is corruption. There is no sacred cow, protected interest or partisan consideration in the investigation and prosecution of corruption.

The EFCC will continue to do its job and all well-meaning Nigerians are enjoined to ignore political statements meant to heat up the polity and divert attention from the pillage of the national treasury.

Dele Oyewale

Head, Media & Publicity