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How Ibom Air passenger was triggered – Eyewitness
A passenger aboard the Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos has alleged that airline staff triggered unruly passenger Comfort Emmanson before the aircraft landed at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
David Ogede, a lawyer who sat next to Emmanson during the July flight, told Channels Television’s The Morning Brief that one of the air hostesses spoke to her in a manner that appeared confrontational both before departure and during the flight.
According to him, the first air hostess gave instructions politely, asking passengers to switch off their phones before takeoff. However, when Emmanson explained that her phone’s power button was faulty, a second hostess intervened and insisted she turn it off.
His words: “To be fair, Ibom Air instructed very clearly. The first air hostess that came told us clearly: no aeroplane mode, switch off your phone. After takeoff, you could put your phone back on.
“The first air hostess addressed us on the emergency exit protocols. After she did that, she spoke to Emmanson. Even from her posture, it was clear she came looking for trouble. Emmanson had been fiddling with her phone. I noticed she was trying to do something, but I do not know what. The air hostess told her again, ‘Switch off your phone, switch off your phone.’ And Emmanson replied clearly, ‘Please, the buttons on my phone to switch off are not working. ‘They are not working, so I do not know how to switch it off.’ The woman repeated, ‘No, switch off your phone.’
“That back and forth continued until the second air hostess said, ‘Look, you are even using an iPhone. You do not need a button to switch it off.’ The lady replied, ‘Okay, I do not know how to do it. Can you do it for me?’ The hostess said, ‘I am not touching your phone. I am not touching your phone. Just switch it off.’
“She said, ‘I do not know what to do.’ So the lady told her, ‘Okay, go to settings. When you go to settings, go to ‘general’. The girl looked at her and said, ‘Please, I cannot understand what you are saying. I cannot read. I do not know what you are saying or where I should go.’ The second air hostess then said, ‘I do not have time for your nonsense. Just switch it off.’
“She asked, ‘Is there a button on my phone? Can you spell ‘general’? The air hostess began, “G, then E.” That was the point the gentleman on my left and I spoke up. We said, ‘What is going on? Do not speak to her like this.’ The second air hostess did not even acknowledge us. She did not look our way to see that someone was speaking.
“At that point, I asked the gentleman to assist her. I said, ‘Please, can you just help this lady? I do not use an iPhone. I have never used an iPhone, so I am not familiar with Settings and all of that.’ The gentleman took the phone and tried to sort it out.
“While that was going on, Emmanson asked the second air hostess, ‘Why are you embarrassing me like this? Why?’ The hostess replied, ‘You had better keep quiet now. If you say another word, I will deal with you.’
“That was when Emmanson flared up and started cursing. I cannot repeat what she said because the language was very strong. That was when the second air hostess said, ‘Okay, you proceed,’ and left towards the front of the plane. She never came back.”
Ogede said the tension lingered until the aircraft touched down in Lagos, with passengers nearby sensing that the situation could escalate.
He recalled the moments leading to landing, the disembarkation process, and his reflections on how the incident could have been avoided if handled with more tact by the crew.
“As we approached landing, the passenger beside me and I said in jest, ‘God help us. Let us get out of this plane before anything happens.’ But we also knew something was wrong. We were worried. When they told us to stow our items for landing, the lady did not hear me. I said, ‘We are landing,’ two or three times. Then the first air hostess, the polite and professional one, came, took her purse and put it in the cabin on top,” he said.
“When the plane landed, the first air hostess, the professional one, came to the front to begin disembarking. Just before it was our turn, Emmanson left. I presumed she went to the toilet. I also used the toilet and saw that it was the only compartment at the back. When it was our turn to disembark, we left and forgot about the incident. That is what happened. This is what I saw and heard.
“As a human being, as a citizen, talking about how she was handled during the flight, with a little bit of humility and humanness, things may have changed. The woman felt she was being attacked andsingled out, and, you know, just an apology and all thatcalm her down. I still insist that if this whole issue about switching off the phone had been handled by the first air hostess, it would not have gone up at all.”
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A British man accused of driving his vehicle into crowds celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title win faces an additional 24 criminal charges, prosecutors revealed Thursday at his latest court hearing.
Former British Marine Paul Doyle, 53, appeared tearful as he joined the hearing at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink from prison, when details of the new counts stemming from the May 26 incident emerged.
Merseyside Police now say 134 people were injured when Doyle allegedly drove his Ford Galaxy Titanium into crowds who were leaving Liverpool’s waterfront after a victory parade.
The 31 charges in total now filed involve 29 victims, aged between six months and 77, the court heard.
Six relate to children including two babies — one aged six months at the time and one aged seven months — who were injured when the car hit people massed on Water street in the city centre.
Supporters of the city’s world-famous football team had thronged its streets to celebrate the club’s record-equalling 20th English top-flight title when scenes of joy turned to horror.
Doyle, a father-of-three from the Croxteth neighbourhood in the city, was initially charged with seven offences, including dangerous driving and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
He now faces multiple additional counts under that and other charges, including 19 for attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, three of wounding with intent and one of affray.
Doyle, wearing a grey T-shirt, did not enter any pleas during the 20-minute hearing, which several relatives of the victims and more than 20 members of the media attended.
Judge Andrew Menary adjourned the case until September 4, when Doyle is expected to enter pleas.
Earlier this year, a provisional trial date was fixed for November 24, with the case expected to last three to four weeks.
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…As WTO, ITC, NEPC launch WEIDE Fund to empower women entrepreneurs
By Juliet Umeh
Director-General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has warned that Nigeria’s low internet penetration, with more than half of the population still offline, could limit the country’s ability to tap into the fast-growing global digital trade market.
Speaking at the launch of the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy, WEIDE, Fund in Abuja, on Thursday, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said only 45 percent of Nigerians are connected to the internet, far below the global average of 67 percent.
WTO DG said: “No nation can truly digitize without a steady supply of electricity and reliable, affordable internet. More than half of Nigerians remain disconnected, and this gap must be closed if we are to seize the opportunities of digital trade.”
According to her, “Nigeria is one of four countries chosen for the WEIDE Fund’s 2024 rollout, alongside Jordan, Mongolia, and the Dominican Republic, after a highly competitive selection process.
“The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, led by Executive Director Nonye Ayeni, will implement the program locally.
“Over 67,000 Nigerian women entrepreneurs applied for the fund. Due to the exceptional quality of entries, the number of beneficiaries was increased from 100 to 146 awardees.
“Sixteen entrepreneurs in the Booster Track will each receive up to US$30,000 and 18 months of technical assistance.
“One hundred and thirty entrepreneurs in the Discovery Track will each get up to US$5,000 and a year of business support.
“Beneficiaries operate across sectors such as agriculture, IT, fashion, hospitality, beauty, and manufacturing.”
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala stressed that digital trade, valued globally at US$4.25 trillion, is the fastest-growing segment of commerce, yet Africa’s share remains below 1 percent.
She urged inter-ministerial collaboration among the Ministries of Communications, Industry, and Power to close the connectivity gap, improve infrastructure, and empower women to compete globally.
She added: “When women trade internationally, they earn almost three times more than those who sell locally. The WEIDE Fund is about giving Nigerian women the tools, skills, and market access to multiply those gains.”
Also in his remarks, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, committed to supporting the initiative, noting that women entrepreneurs bring a unique ability to connect products to real-life problems.
Tijani said: “Empathy is women’s superpower in business, and it is this empathy that creates solutions with lasting impact.”
Also in his remarks, President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, NACCIMA, Dr. Dele Oye, praised the programme for positioning Nigeria in the digital trade ecosystem and supporting the country’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy.
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Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has listed several behaviour it considers unruly following the controversy raised by Comfort Emmanson’s clash with Ibom Air crew members.
The AON listed the behaviour that may be considered unruly in a statement released on Thursday by its spokesperson, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, after charges were dropped against Emmanson following intervention from the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
The statement said, “Consequent upon the intervention of the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, FCIArb (UK), and appeal to lift the life-time ban placed on Ms. Comfort Emmanson by its members for unruly behavior onboard Ibom Air Flight Q9 303 from Uyo to Lagos on August 10, 2025, the AON, having considered all the circumstances of the matter, including the exhibition of remorse for her behavior, as reported, the withdrawal of the complaint and consequent striking out of the charges, and release of Ms. Emmanson from custody, the statement of Government that it takes aviation safety and security very seriously and decision to draw a line after these clemencies, and the proposed retreat to retrain AVSEC personnel and airline crew on the handling of unruly and disruptive passengers, the AON hereby:
“Lifted the life ban placed on Ms. Comfort Emmanson from flying with any AON-member airline for life.
“Calls on the relevant aviation agencies to immediately commence the sensitization of the public on the dangers and consequences of unruly behaviour at airport terminals and onboard aircraft, as spelt out in section 85 of the Civil Aviation Act, 2022 and Part 17 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, 2023.
“Believes that incidents of unruly and disruptive behaviour at airport terminals and onboard aircraft will greatly reduce if passengers are aware that such behaviour poses a danger to flight safety and are offences under the law, punishable with a fine or imprisonment or both.
“Unruly behaviour includes but is not limited to:
“a) Assaulting, intimidating, or threatening any flight or cabin crew member;
“b) Using a mobile phone and/or other communication/electronic gadget on board aircraft against the instruction of the pilot-in-command or flight crew or cabin crew;
“c) Smoking on board aircraft or in a non-smoking area of the terminal building;
“d) Fighting or other disorderly conduct on board an aircraft or at the terminal building;
“e) Any conduct constituting a nuisance to other passengers;
“f) Disobedience of lawful instruction issued by the pilot-in-command, flight crew, cabin crew, check-in-staff and/or security screening staff;
“g) Any conduct that endangers the safety of flight operations;
“h) Tampering with smoke detectors or other aircraft equipment.
“Reiterates the power of the pilot-in-command or an AVSEC officer, as provided in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, to restrain and de-board an unruly and disruptive passenger and to take all necessary measures to protect the safety of the aircraft, the terminal building or of persons and property therein, to maintain good order and discipline on board or at the terminal building and to enable him deliver such person to competent authorities.”
The statement further said that the AON “confirms that members shall cooperate with the relevant aviation agencies and participate in the retraining retreats on how to handle cases of unruly and disruptive passengers as proposed by the Honorable Minister.
“Reaffirms its zero-tolerance policy towards unruly passenger behaviour and enjoins aggrieved passengers to follow proper channels in expressing their grievances.”
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