By Jeremy Fregene
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has condemned the public release of a viral video showing the bare breasts of an unruly passenger, Ms. Comfort Emmanson, during her removal from an Ibom Air flight, describing it as “totally unacceptable” and “a debasing of womanhood.”
In a statement titled Enough is Enough: Reading the Riot Act on Aviation Safety and Security in Reference to the Case of Unruly Ms. Comfort Bob on Ibom Airline and Related Incidents, Keyamo confirmed that the incident occurred on August 10, 2025, aboard Ibom Air Flight Q153 from Uyo to Lagos at 14:54 hours. He said Emmanson, also known as Comfort Bob, went “berserk” and physically assaulted both flight crew and ground staff after refusing to switch off her phone during take-off, in violation of international civil aviation regulations.
The minister said he had engaged the Commissioner of Police at the Airport Police Command, the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and Ibom Air officials over the matter. He disclosed that, in addition to an indefinite local and international flight ban imposed on Emmanson by the NCAA, the police had arraigned her at the Ikeja Magistrates Court, where she was remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Facility after failing to meet bail conditions.
While stressing that aviation authorities support filming such incidents to aid prosecution, Keyamo condemned the release of the sensitive footage to the public. “Whilst we support the filming of her recalcitrant behaviour as evidence to prosecute her, what is deplorable is to release such evidence containing indecent exposure to the public to ridicule her. That is totally unacceptable to us. We will not fold our arms and tolerate the debasing of womanhood. I have therefore directed that whoever released that part of the video containing the indecent exposure amongst the staff should be singled out and adequately sanctioned,” he said.
Keyamo further directed airlines to intensify staff training in handling volatile situations and announced that a joint security meeting will be held next week to strengthen inter-agency coordination in similar cases. He also reminded air travellers that there are established procedures for addressing grievances and warned that erring passengers would face long-term flight bans in addition to prosecution.
The minister’s comments follow widespread outrage from Nigerians over the now-viral footage, which shows Emmanson’s breasts exposed while she was being dragged off the aircraft by airport security. Many have criticised the handling of the situation as both unprofessional and a violation of her dignity.