- The handling of both cases has sparked criticism and outrage among many Nigerians, with former Anambra State governor Peter Obi describing the situation as a double standard and selective justice.
The Federal Government has provided more insight into the airport furore occasioned by the squabble between Comfort Emmanson, a passenger of Ibom Air, and crew members of the airline.
The incident happened barely a week after Fuji music legend Wasiu Ayinde, a.k.a Kwam 1, disrupted a ValueJet flight and held other passengers hostage in Abuja.
However, Emmanson was made to face the full wrath of the law despite her offence not anywhere as serious as the crime committed by Kwam 1.
She was swiftly arraigned before a court and subsequently remanded in prison for two months. She was also placed on a no-fly list for life by airline operators in the country while the Fuji artiste did not face any prosecution or punitive punishment.
The handling of both cases has sparked criticism and outrage among many Nigerians, with former Anambra State governor Peter Obi describing the situation as a double standard and selective justice.
However, the federal government said the two incidents are not the same and there is no basis for comparison.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Mike Achimugu, made this known when he appeared on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday,
“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.
“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 said.
According to him, the NCAA was not directly involved in Emmanson’s case, whereas in Kwam 1’s situation, the Authority issued an advisory to the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, to ban the musician from flights.
He revealed that contrary to earlier reports, Kwam 1 was not placed on a six-month ban but on an indefinite ban pending the outcome of investigations.
Achimugu, while explaining why Emmanson was placed on a no-fly life ban, said airline operators have the legal authority to take such action
Discussion about this post