The Federal Government says it has withdrawn all criminal complaint against Comfort Emmanson, the passenger involved in an unruly incident aboard an Ibom Air flight on August 10, 2025. The authorities have also reduced the flight ban imposed on Fuji music icon, Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, Kwam1, from an indefinite sanction to one month.
Festus Keyamo, the minister for aviation and aerospace development, disclosed the decisions in a statement on Wednesday after consultations with key aviation stakeholders, airline operators, and those involved in the recent wave of airport-related altercations.
Keyamo said both cases had been reviewed in light of appeals from well-meaning individuals and the remorse shown by the parties involved.
In Emmanson’s case, he said Ibom Air had agreed to withdraw its complaint after the passenger expressed “great remorse” during a police interview conducted in the presence of her lawyer.
Following the withdrawal, the Police will work to facilitate her release from Kirikiri Prison within the week. The Minister also secured the agreement of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to lift the lifetime flight ban imposed on her.
On the ValueJet incident involving Kwam 1, Keyamo announced that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will reduce the singer’s flight ban to one month and withdraw its criminal complaint against him.
Read also: FAAN vows tough sanctions as unruly passenger incidents rise at Nigerian airports
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will also collaborate with the music star to make him an ambassador for airport security protocol.
The Minister further revealed that Oluranti Ogoyi, ValueJet pilots Captain and First Officer Ivan Oloba, sanctioned after the Kwam 1 altercation will have their licenses restored after serving a one-month suspension and undergoing mandatory professional reappraisal.
Beyond the individual cases, Keyamo directed aviation and relevant government agencies to begin a retreat next week aimed at retraining aviation security personnel on handling disruptive passengers and de-escalating tense situations. Airlines will also undergo a separate session focused on improving staff conduct towards passengers.
“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,”
Read also: Airline operators place ‘No Fly’ life ban on Emmanson, Ibom Air passenger for unruly behavior
He stressed that the government’s decisions were made on compassionate grounds but warned that aviation safety and security would not be compromised going forward.
“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.
Read also: What aviation law says about unruly passengers
“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,” he said.
