The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has explained the different approaches taken in handling two recent high-profile passenger incidents, involving Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as K1 De Ultimate, and an Ibom Air passenger, Comfort Emmanson.
Speaking on The Morning Brief on Tuesday, the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mike Achimugu, said that in K1 De Ultimate’s case, the airline, ValueJet, did not press charges. As a result, the NCAA petitioned relevant authorities to prosecute the singer and issued an advisory to the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to ban him from flying with its members.
“In the singer’s case, the airline did not activate its right to take the passenger to court,” Achimugu said. “We petitioned relevant authorities for prosecution and advised the AON to place a ban.”
In contrast, Achimugu explained that in the Ibom Air case, the airline immediately pursued legal action after a passenger allegedly assaulted a staff member. “Maybe because their staff had been assaulted, the airline immediately activated its right to take up the matter, and it went to court, so the NCAA is not involved in that case,” he stated.
The NCAA director stressed that both incidents demonstrate the aviation system being tested, with “enough blame to go around FAAN, AVSEC, cabin crew, and passengers.” He emphasised that unruly behaviour is unacceptable and that passengers must always obey cabin crew instructions for safety reasons.
In the Ibom Air incident, Achimugu noted reports that other passengers seized the accused passenger’s phone and switched it off during the confrontation.
On Monday, AON announced a lifetime ban on Emmanson, prohibiting her from flying with any member airline domestically or internationally. The group warned that similar behaviour in the future would result in the same consequence.
K1 De Ultimate was separately handed a six-month ban by the NCAA for unruly conduct at Abuja Airport last Tuesday.
