The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the lifetime flight ban imposed by the Airline Operators of Nigeria and Ibom Air on passenger Comfort Emmanson for alleged misconduct, as stated in his X post on Tuesday.
Obi criticised Nigeria’s justice system, likening it to a “spider’s web” that ensnares the weak while allowing the powerful to escape, and questioned the fairness and due process behind Emmanson’s sanction.
The incident, captured in videos shared on X on August 10, 2025, showed Emmanson, a woman in her twenties, angrily confronting an Ibom Air flight attendant and airport security officials.
In response, Ibom Air restricted her travel, and the AON placed her on a lifetime no-fly list, describing her actions as one of the “most severe cases of unruly behaviour” in 2025, leading to her remand in Kirikiri Correctional Centre until October 6.
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On Monday, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority director of public affairs and consumer protection, Mike Achimugu, said that while the airline had the right to pursue prosecution, the parties could still settle out of court if they agreed to, allowing for possible withdrawal of the case.
The former Anambra governor questioned the process that led to Emmanson’s sanction, asking whether all avenues for justice and compassionate resolution had been exhausted.
Obi said it was a “tragic irony” that a young woman could be barred for life while “those in positions of authority perpetrate far greater offences that harm the nation deeply, yet move freely in comfort, shielded from consequences”.
“This morning, I woke up to learn that the passenger, the young Ms Comfort Emmanson in her twenties, has been banned from flying for life — once again showing how our system works, proving the truth of Anacharsis’s words that ‘the law is like a spider’s web: it catches the weak, while the powerful break through with ease’,” Obi wrote.
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“There is something systemically wrong and unjust about this authoritarian decision.
“What due process was followed overnight, leading to this sanction? Have we exhausted the avenues of justice and compassionate resolution in this matter?
“It is a tragic irony that a young lady in her twenties can be banned for life, while we — her parents — commit worse crimes against humanity and are celebrated.
“Those in positions of authority perpetrate far greater offences that harm the nation deeply, yet move freely in comfort, shielded from consequences.
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“In Ms Emmanson’s case, the authorities acted with lightning speed, but the same urgency is absent when dealing with the influential and politically connected.
“If this young woman, who indeed acted wrongly, now seeks to apologise, who will hear her cry in a country where the pain of the poor is invisible and the dignity of the less privileged is often disregarded? Justice must be consistent, or it becomes oppression in disguise.”
Restating the need for compassion and rehabilitation, Obi said, “power must never determine who is punished”.
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The incident happened days after a row at the domestic terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, involving Wasiu Ayinde, a popular Fuji musician.
The musician was placed on a no-fly list, pending the outcome of a full investigation.
The NCAA also petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of police to investigate the incident.