NCAA: Ibom Air’s lifetime ban on passenger who assaulted crew may be lifted

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says the lifetime ban placed on Comfort Emmanson by Ibom Air can still be reviewed.

Mike Achimugu, NCAA’s director of public affairs and consumer protection, said this on Monday during an X Space conversation while responding to claims that Emmanson was treated more harshly than fuji musician KWAM 1 in similar circumstances.

He explained that the NCAA does not have the power to impose a ban without a court order, but airline operators can do so if there is sufficient evidence.

According to him, the Ibom Air case differs from that of KWAM 1 because the authority had the opportunity to investigate and advise the airline before action was taken.

He said KWAM 1 was placed on a no-fly list for six months before it was extended indefinitely pending the conclusion of an investigation, while Ibom Air acted independently based on available evidence.

“In this case, the airline exercised its rights to do what they needed to do, right? And AON, based on some of the evidences already available, because while the investigations are ongoing, you can still be working with what is available to you.

“Now, for you who say you are in the industry, when you see a passenger hitting a cabin crew member in the way the lady was doing, and the fight she had with the people who came to restrain her, you may have to agree that the airlines had every right to announce a ban.

“Yeah, of course, one would expect that at the end of all of these things, maybe the ban could be shortened or even removed altogether,” he said.

Achimugu also clarified the different roles of NCAA and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), adding that the AON’s action could deter incidents that are becoming frequent in the sector.

“But as of the moment, if they feel that that’s the right thing, because again, don’t forget, airline staff are also human beings, and they’re also fellow Nigerians.

“Some of them are your brothers and your sisters, too. And they deserve the same courtesy that passengers also deserve. Now, nobody deserves to be beaten up or hit in the manner that occurred in this flight.

“Based on video evidence available, AON has made such a decision. It is within their rights, because they also have been suffering some of these incidents a lot of the time.

“Remember, there was an airport incident where three drunk people had mid-air between London and Nigeria, caused a situation that could have crashed that flight.

“To date, Air Peace feels aggrieved that nobody issued an advisory for those passengers to be blacklisted. But you see, evidence of what happened on board was not made available to the NCAA. So it became a case of he said, she said.

“I just want to put it out there very clearly that the NCAA did not issue an advisory to AON, and AON is within its right to ban any passenger, to blacklist a passenger. Just to make this clear,” he said.

Achimugu added that with lawyers now involved, there is a strong chance the ban could be lifted, with both parties potentially settling the matter out of court.