₦airaland Forum

@festuskeyamo

PRESS STATEMENT: DECISION TO WITHDRAW CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST MS. COMFORT EMMANSON AND TO ADDRESS RELATED MATTERS

1. In the last 48 hours, I have been in consultation with critical stakeholders in the Aviation Sector and those involved in the unfortunate incidents regarding the unruly behaviours of certain individuals at our airports of recent.

2. Though regrettable, we think valuable lessons have been learnt by all sides to these incidents and airport security protocol, especially, have been well highlighted for the travelling public. If nothing at all, the episodes have undoubtedly helped to raise public awareness about appropriate conduct within the aviation space.

3. As highlighted in my previous statements on the last two incidents, clear wrongs were committed by both the offending passengers and staff of the airlines involved from all the evidence available to us and those available to the public. It is clear that all the actors involved cannot continue to highlight the injury or injustice done to them without acknowledging their own equal culpability.

5. Therefore, after reviewing the entire incidents, including appeals made by well-meaning individuals and remorse shown by the actors, the following decisions have been reached:

THE CASE OF IBOM AIRLINE AND MS. COMFORT EMMANSON

(a) In the case of the unruly passenger, Ms. Comfort Emmanson, on the Ibom Airline on Sunday, the 10th of August, 2025, I have conferred with Ibom Airline to withdraw the Complaint against her today. When the Police took her Statement in presence of her lawyer, she exhibited great remorse for her conduct.

(b) Subsequent to the withdrawal of the complaint by the Complainant, the CP of Airport Command and the Police Prosecutor will immediately take the remaining steps to facilitate her release from Kirikiri Prisons within this week.

(c) I have also conferred with the leadership of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and have appealed to them to lift the life-time flying ban imposed on her, to which they agreed. The details of the resolution will be made public by the AON subsequently.

THE CASE OF VALUEJET AND WASIU AYINDE MARSHALL (KWAM 1)

(d) In the case of KWAM 1, the NCAA is to reduce his flight ban to a one-month period. FAAN will also work with the music star with a view to engaging him as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol going forward.

(e) Having publicly demonstrated penitence, the NCAA is also to withdraw its criminal complaints against KWAM 1 earlier lodged with the Police.

(f) In the case of Captain Oluranti Ogoyi, and the co-pilot, First Officer Ivan Oloba of VALUEJET, the NCAA is to restore their licenses after the same period of one-month ban after undergoing some mandatory professional re-appraisal. The details will be announced by the NCAA.

AIRLINE OPERATORS, AVIATION AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

6. I have directed all relevant Aviation agencies in collaboration with other complementary agencies outside aviation to IMMEDIATELY begin a retreat NEXT WEEK to properly retrain and prepare our Aviation security personnel on how to deal with errant and disruptive passengers and how to deescalate potentially explosive situations. The retreat will be fully covered by the Press with the opportunity to ask all the relevant questions.

7. The Airlines will also have their own session when the conduct and attitude of their staff towards members of the travelling public will be in full focus.

FINAL COMMENTS

8. These above decisions were taken by Government and the airline operators purely on COMPASSIONATE grounds as Government will never pander to base sentiments, politically-motivated views or warped legal opinions when clear encroachment of our laws are involved.

9. We are also sending a CLEAR MESSAGE that we take safety and security in the aviation sector very seriously and we have decided to draw a line after these clemencies.

FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, CON, FCIArb (UK)

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ApZgJDcep/

Keyamo should stop acting weak and do the necessary thing.

You don't need any shalaye

No compensation for the woman whose wig was violently torn, her glasses smashed and viciously slapped with reckless abandon by the unruly female passenger?

This is not fair to her at all.

Weakling!!! That's what I've seen from here. Both incidents won't go unpunished severely in the Western world. We are truly not serious in Nigeria. Goodluck to all the parties involved.

Before commenting free emmanson first or lock kwam1 up too.

This news is getting stale and nothing useful will come out of it.

This case is getting more attention than necessary we should also not forget the insecurity in the country

U see life....God no go shame us we the average man in this country o

Kai, once again, the system fails to apply punitive measures because of our culture of begging after the facts. The major beneficiary in all of these is KWAM1, this lady just created the perfect excuse for the government to give him a slap in the wrist. Too many people getaway with a lot of things in this country, that is why we always have the boldness to say "Do you know who I am?"

Now, hope folks can now see why the aviation security guys did not manhandle KWAM1, because the security personnel involved would probably have been secretly sacked, if not today but in the future for very flimsy excuses.

When you reduce the authority of those who have been empowered to act in certain situations by not punishing the offending party, you water down the effectiveness of the systems you put in place. From now on, air hostesses will no longer seriously want to enforce passengers switching off their phones because if they now realize that they get slapped in return, the system will not protect them.

This is one of the reasons police do not arrest some class of people because they know that it would sometimes be them who face the consequences of doing their job whereas the so called big man gets a slap on the wrist or teachers who no longer correct children in school because the big man parent will assault them and nothing will happen.

If the public had not reacted, there would have been a travesty of justice particularly as it concerns the lady whose endowment was exposed.

9jatriot:
Kai, once again, the system fails to apply punitive measures because of our culture of begging after the facts

The major reason why crimes and criminals always triumph.

FreeStuffsNG:
No compensation for the woman whose wig was violently torn, her glasses smashed and viciously slapped with reckless abandon by the unruly female passenger?

This is not fair to her at all.

And then she had to open the other woman's brezz for all of us to view

Just speechless.

Happy to be away from this place.

I hope to return to Nigeria when those who messed it up fixes it.

I am impressed with this coming from the minister.

No better way to settle the matter than this.

I love point no 8 before some will be thinking it is their media rascality that is responsible fpr the resolutions taking

Like some would think in their warped mind NYSC started paying 77k cos of one unruly person act.

fergie001:
@festuskeyamo


https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ApZgJDcep/

I'm disappointed but then it's Nigeria.

No lessons learned.

He’ll be rewarded with an ambassadorial position!
Yay!
Fuq civility!

IMPARTIAL:
If the public had not reacted, there would have been a travesty of justice particularly as it concerns the lady whose endowment was exposed.

How did you get to know anything about what happened if not for the video. It wasn't as if they were stripping her naked? Infact the security guy hurriedly stopped holding one of her hands so that she could adjust her clothes by herself. That woman got what she deserved.

They dare not jail kwam 1. That is Nigeria for you. 10 characters needed

Where due process is not in place, jungle justice practiced, everyone wants to show authority, action is taken before judgement.

U simply cannot compel the airline to withdraw their cases using your office...

This is the real abuse of power
This is not justice...
Conduct an investigation..
Whoever is guilty should be punished
Not this nonsense!!
God... Who do Nigeria this one

Food for media houses now to divert us from country pallava

Nice one make everybody go house happy... Keyamo use to be a freedom fighter then... But as e enter politics... We no knw again.... But again, we have laws and regulations which should be followed irrespective of the offender....

Very, very complicated decision considering the calibre of people involved, media magnification and our rottine system.


We still have a long way to go as a nation

what I will come back and read the comments so I will be sure

See these people trying to save face. What power does the minister of aviation have to tell the police to drop a case? This is why the world doesn't take us seriously. If a crime has been committed, let whoever the person is face the law!

I was actually expecting this , because of Kwam1 , kwam 2 will be free

When the Police took her Statement in presence of her lawyer, she exhibited great remorse for her conduct.

(b) Subsequent to the withdrawal of the complaint by the Complainant, the CP of Airport Command and the Police Prosecutor will immediately take the remaining steps to facilitate her release from Kirikiri Prisons within this week.

as a lawyer that Keyamo is, is it at the police station that remorse is established or is it at the court?

or is this keyamos deceptive wayof admitting that the lady was detained arbitrarily

or should we say they are using one stone to kill two birds by using her incidence to reduce KWAM1s punishment after Obi complained of tribalism?

Let us leave the country for them since they don't value us the citizen

They want to protect brother KWAM1 onigberaga, the case must go on. Keyamo is biased already, let's see how it will come to an end. Nigeria is funny.