After careful review of the incident involving Ibom Air and ValueJet crews, the federal government has taken fresh decisions on Miss Comfort Emmanson and King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM1), respectively. Accordingly, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, in a statement today revealed that he had directed Ibom Air to withdraw criminal charges filed against Miss Emmanson.
Emmanson, a passenger that was involved in fisticuffs with an Ibom Air hostess during an Uyo-Lagos flight on Sunday, where several pieces of footage went round social media platforms revealing the passengers in an altercation with the crew member while in the process of bundling her out of the plane, which stripped her half naked.
She was later arraigned and remanded in Kirikiri Maximum Prisons even as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) slammed a life ban on her even before concluding the investigation.
Nigerians in an uproar criticised the NCAA and airport authorities for playing double standards when compared with a recent case of Kwan1, a musician that attempted to stop Valuejet from taxing. Kwam1 was only slammed with a 6-month ban.
Kwam1 refused crew instruction not to travel with the liquid substance he was carrying while he attempted to block the aircraft from taking off.
The Emmanson case attracted a sympathy that made the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other NGOs volunteer to legally assist her, as they consider she was not fairly treated.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had directed the Commissioner of Police, Airport Command, to investigate the incident involving KWAM1.
But providing updates on the two incidents, Keyamo stated that having consulted with critical stakeholders in the sector and those involved in the two unfortunate incidents, some decisions were reached.
The Minister said, “In the case of Comfort Emmanson, 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.
“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.
“I have also conferred with the leadership of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and have appealed to them to lift the lifetime flying ban imposed on her, to which they agreed. The details of the resolution will be made public by the AON subsequently.”
On that of KWAM1, the minister directed the NCAA “to reduce his flight ban to a one-month period” instead.
He said FAAN would also work with the music star with a view to engaging him as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol going forward.
“Having publicly demonstrated penitence, the NCAA is also to withdraw its criminal complaints against KWAM 1 earlier lodged with the police,” he added.
On Captain Oluranti Ogoyi and the co-pilot, Flight Officer Ivan Oloba of ValueJet, whose licenses were suspended, he said, “The NCAA is to restore their licenses after the same period of one-month ban after undergoing some mandatory professional reappraisal. The details will be announced by the NCAA.”
Consequently, the Minister had directed all relevant aviation agencies in collaboration with other complementary agencies outside aviation “to IMMEDIATELY begin a retreat NEXT WEEK to properly retrain and prepare our aviation security personnel on how to deal with errant and disruptive passengers and how to deescalate potentially explosive situations. The retreat will be fully covered by the press with the opportunity to ask all the relevant questions.”
“The airlines will also have their own session when the conduct and attitude of their staff towards members of the travelling public will be in full focus,” he said.
Keyamo noted that on both the unfortunate incidents, “valuable lessons have been learnt by all sides to these incidents, and airport security protocols, especially, have been well highlighted for the travelling public.”
He added, “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,” Keyamo stated.
According to the minister, the above decisions were taken by the government and the airline operators purely on compassionate grounds. Saying the government would never pander to base sentiments, politically motivated views, or warped legal opinions when clear encroachments of laws are involved.
“We are also sending a CLEAR MESSAGE that we take safety and security in the aviation sector very seriously, and we have decided to draw a line after these clemencies,” he concluded.