The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has clarified that Nigerian Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, known as K1 de Ultimate (Kwam 1), was not charged to court by ValueJet, unlike Ibom Air’s action against its passenger, Comfort Emmanson, over alleged unruly behaviour.
The spokesperson of the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, disclosed this in an interview with DAILY POST on Monday.
His clarification comes as Emmanson, on Monday, was charged in court and remanded in prison, a development that has attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, described Emmanson’s treatment as “double standards.”
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However, Achimugu noted that the NCAA did not sue Kwam 1, nor did it sue Emmanson.
According to NCAA, the airline exercised its right to sue the alleged unruly passenger in court.
“There’s nothing to put together here. The Ibom Air passenger was arrested and charged to court by the airline.
“The airline has exercised its right to sue the unruly passenger in court. So long as that case is in court, the NCAA has no role to play in it. Okay.
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“But in the Kwam 1 case, since the airline did not sue or take the passenger to court, the NCAA, which also does not have prosecutorial powers, decided to do the right thing by criminally referring the case to the Attorney General and Inspector General of Police.
“So if ValueJet had arrested and taken Kwamwan to court that day, the NCAA would not have been involved to the extent that it became involved.
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“Because they didn’t do that, the NCAA did what it had to do. In this case, the airline, since the incident happened, immediately arrested the lady and sued her in court. So that’s not the NCAA’s fault.
“We did not sue Kwam 1; we did not sue this lady,” he told DAILY POST.
The NCAA petitioned Kwam 1 to the Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector General of Police for prosecution over an alleged misconduct incident at a Nigerian airport.