Dare Babalola
A Civil Society Organisation, The Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development, has faulted the decision of Ibom Air to place a passenger, Comfort Enmanson on a life ban following her altercation with some crew members of the airline.
In a statement by its Head of Office, Omoniyi Akingunola, on Monday, the organisation condemned the treatment of Emmanson, slamming the management of Ibom Air for not carrying out a thorough investigation before taking the decision.
Akingunola also revealed plans by the CSO to provide free legal services to Emmanson.
While describing the treatment meted out to the passenger as unfair and unacceptable, the NEFGAD’s chief also faulted the police for rushing to court without conducting adequate fact-finding after the incident.
He said publicly available footage of the incident is incomplete, noting that the altercation began onboard the aircraft, insisting that Ibom Air must release the in-flight video footage to clarify whether Emmanson’s actions were provoked.
“It is wrong to judge the incident based solely on the clip recorded outside the aircraft. It appears something happened inside the plane, and the lady reacted after she was prevented from disembarking, an apparent orchestrated provocation to ensure she was penalised for whatever had transpired in-flight,” the statement reads.
He questioned how anyone forcibly dragged down a plane could be expected to behave civilly and why a passenger ready to disembark suddenly refused to leave moments later.
Recall that a viral video had earlier shown an enraged Emmanson attacking flight attendants on an Ibom Air flight inbound to Lagos from Uyo and confronting airport security officials.
