Aisha Yesufu, human rights activist has criticised what she called “two justice systems” in Nigeria, alleging inequality in the handling of the Ibom Air passenger incident.
In a video posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, Yesufu said:
“We cannot have a nation where we have two justice systems, and depending on your social standing in the society, that will determine the kind of justice system given to you or aligns to you. That is unacceptable.”
Yesufu was reacting to the case of Comfort Emmanson, an Ibom Air passenger accused of assaulting airline officials, who has been remanded in Kirikiri Prison, Lagos, after being charged to court.
On August 10, during a flight from Uyo to Lagos, Emmanson reportedly refused to switch off her mobile phone as instructed by the cabin crew, a standard safety requirement. The situation escalated when another passenger forcefully turned off the device, prompting an aggressive reaction from her.
She allegedly attacked another crew member and attempted to use a fire extinguisher as a weapon, which the airline described as a serious safety threat. Following the incident, Ibom Air banned her indefinitely, while the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) placed her on a lifetime no-fly list for both domestic and international flights.
Arrested by airport security and handed over to the police, Emmanson was subsequently charged in court and remanded at Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
While stressing she was “not against the charges and accusations” against Emmanson, Yesufu insisted the law must be applied equally:
“Talking about the Ibom Airline passenger issue, first, I’m not against the charges and accusations against the passenger, but the same way, for me, is that justice must be justice, rule of law must be rule of.
The reason it is the rule of law is that it applies to everybody, not that it applies for some people and not for some other people.”
Yesufu compared Emmanson’s treatment with that of Fuji musician King Wasiu Ayinde (KWAM 1) and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, both of whom were recently involved in airline-related incidents but were not charged, remanded, or subjected to similar consequences.
She also criticised the manner in which Emmanson was restrained, alleging that she was dragged in a way that tore her dress and exposed her breasts:
“That is sexual harassment. That is you putting somebody’s nudity in the public while there was literally no need for that to be in the public place.
You needed to show that you have humiliated her and now she will forever live with the fact that her body part… is now all out on display and people will continue to make caricature with it.”
The activist accused authorities of double standards, citing KWAM 1’s alleged behaviour on a flight—pouring liquid in the plane and stopping an aircraft—and Oshiomhole’s reported confrontation with Air Peace officials, neither of which resulted in comparable penalties.
“Is it because he can connect on the phone with an illegitimate President? Is that why he can be so arrogant?
Adams Oshiomhole feels that because he is in APC he can do anyhow… yet, nobody remanded him.
Comfort doesn’t have somebody she can make phone calls with and that is why they are remanding her. We can’t have that. You can’t be doing two different things.”
Yesufu argued that Ibom Air could have handled the situation differently to avoid humiliation:
“When the flight landed, the airline would have made sure all the passengers were inside the plane and sorted out everything, not blocking only Comfort… Do they even train the security agents on what to do? They dragged her as if they were dragging chicken… That is sexual harassment.”
Visibly upset, she concluded:
“Do you even understand what happens to her mental state? I’m not saying that what Comfort Emmason did was right, let her face the consequences… but there are better ways Ibom Air could have handled it.
Why didn’t you drag King Wasiu Ayinde out of the aircraft like that? Why didn’t they bundle Senator Adams Oshiomhole and drag him on the floor?
Selective justice is actually injustice.”
