‘No selective justice’ — NCAA speaks on Ibom Air, KWAM 1 flight disruption cases
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has explained the reason why Comfort Emmanson, a female passenger who allegedly assaulted Ibom Air crew members, was remanded, while Fuji music legend Wasiu Ayinde, also known as KWAM 1, who disrupted a ValueJet flight in Abuja last week, faced no such court action.
The Ibom Air incident, which occurred on the Uyo–Lagos route on Sunday, has triggered public outrage and accusations of selective justice.
But speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, Mike Achimugu, the director of public affairs and consumer protection of the NCAA, said the two incidents were different.
“There is no comparison here; it’s not a case of oranges and oranges. In the KWAM1 incident, the airline did not activate its rights to take the passenger to court, so the NCAA did what it was supposed to do by petitioning the authorities to petition the passenger,” Achimugu said.
“In the Ibom Air incident, maybe because their staff had been assaulted, the airline immediately activated its right to take up the matter, and it went to court.”
He noted that the NCAA was not directly involved in Emmanson’s case, while the authority issued an advisory to the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to ban the musician from flights in KWAM 1’s situation.
He stated that KWAM 1 was not placed on a six-month ban but on an indefinite ban pending the outcome of investigations.
On the other hand, Achimugu said Emmanson was placed on a no-fly life ban, noting that airline operators have the legal authority to take such action.
