Category Nigeria News

A female passenger, Comfort Emmanson, who allegedly assaulted airline officials on an Ibom Air flight inbound Lagos from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, has been charged in court.

Tunde Moshood, the spokesman to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said Emmanson had also been remanded at the Kirikiri correctional centre in Lagos.

Moshood disclosed this in a post via X on Monday, shortly after the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said enforcement action would soon become more frequent in Nigerian airports over the unruly conduct of passengers.

READ ALSO: Ibom Air Bans Passenger After Assault On Crew Members

“The more reason the flying public should be more careful, the unruly passenger on Uyo-Lagos-bound Ibom Air, Miss Comfort Emmanson, has been charged in court, and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri,” Moshood said.

Earlier, videos circulating on social media showed an enraged Emmanson attacking flight attendants on an Ibom Air plane and confronting airport security officials.

Ibom Air said the incident began shortly before take-off from Uyo when the passenger refused to comply with standard aviation safety procedures requiring her to switch off her mobile phone.

The airline said a fellow passenger seated beside her took the phone and switched it off, prompting a verbal tirade from Emmanson.

The more reason the flying public should be more careful, the unruly passenger on Uyo-Lagos bound Ibom Air, Miss Comfort Emmanson has been charged to court and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri. https://t.co/iqNsSOLo6N

It stated that upon arrival in Lagos, Emmanson proceeded to confront the purser who had earlier instructed her to switch off her phone, and physically assaulted her.

According to Ibom Air said her conduct posed a serious threat to the safety of its crew, passengers, and aircraft.

The suspension of Godfrey Chikwere, General Manager of Legacy FM, has sparked discontent among Ebonyi State residents, with many accusing the state government of stifling press freedom.

“Even from the reaction of trending on social media, Ebonyi people are not happy with the suspension,” a political analyst Charles Otu said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday.

“They feel that the suspension was because of the pressure put by the government on the radio station,” he said.

Otu said the public outcry following the action reflected growing dissatisfaction with how Governor Francis Nwifuru handles criticism.

“I was a guest in the interview last week Friday with Godfrey Chikwere, the general manager of Legacy FM based in Ebonyi. It is a privately owned radio station and regularly from time to time they invite discussants to discuss topical issues around the nation, particularly as it concerns Ebonyi,” Otu stated.

He explained that the conversation during the programme focused on “issues of governance, issues of administration, issues of lack of communication, issues about the governor giving a command and then going back not to follow up on the issues or commands he has given.”

The discussion also touched on how “every week, one sad news, one person is trying to make the government look so unserious before very critical-minded minds.”

Otu said he was shocked to see a press statement from the government, alleging that Chikwere had “gone overboard” and calling for his sanction. The statement also claimed the government had been “sponsoring the private station” with equipment such as a generator and transformers.

Otu described as “petty” and a “direct attack” on Chikwere, the action of the government that led to the suspension of the general manager.

He warned that the move raised concerns about freedom of the press, stressing that Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution mandates the media to hold the government accountable.

The Management of the Green Legacy hotel, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, has threatened legal action against the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), following the “invasion” of the hotel by EFCC operatives on Sunday.

In a statement, the hotel’s Managing Director, Vitalis Ortese, said about 50 armed men from the anti-graft agency stormed the premises at around 2 am on Sunday, in a Gestapo style, “shooting guns, threatening to kill people” at an event held in the hotel.

“It should be noted that the event was a private event that had been widely
advertised to members of the public for days before the due date,” he said.

The hotel management insisted that nobody was informed before the operatives carried out the raid.

READ ALSO: EFCC Storms Hotel In Obasanjo Library, Arrests Suspected Internet Fraudsters

“It should also be noted that both the police officers stationed at the OOPL gates and additional police sent from the Kemta Police Station, as requested by the organisers of the event and management, stated that they were not informed of any planned operation by the EFCC and neither did they present any warrant.

“Management wishes to state that this action by the EFCC is a clear case of invasion of private property, infringement of OOPL rights, a corporate citizen, and indeed a stark and blatant violation of the rights of the people who so gathered for the event.

The Federal Government is set to arraign Idris Omeiza; Al-Qasim Idris; Jamiu Abdulmalik; Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Abubakar who are alleged to be responsible for the June 5, 2022 bombing of Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

The suspects are to be arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The Federal Government filed nine counts bordering on terrorism against the five defendants.

The arraignment of the suspects comes three years after the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, said those behind the attack were arrested.

The National security Council had linked the attack to heinous activities of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).