- Safiu Kehinde
A passenger on board the Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos has narrated how the Nigerian local airline’s hostess had allegedly provoked Comfort Emmanson during the flight before the drama that ensued at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
NPO Reported that Emmanson had on arrival at the Lagos airport assaulted the Ibom Air hostess before the arrival of security operatives who dragged her out of the aircraft.
Emmanson was yesterday remanded in Kirikiri prison and slammed with lifetime flight ban by the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) over the physical assault on the Ibom Air hostess.
The incident which occurred at the weekend had sparked mixed reactions with members of the public expressing varying opinions over the conducts of the passenger and the air hostess.
Many have condemned the manner the alleged unruly passenger was stripped naked and recorded while being dragged out of the plane.
NPO earlier Reported an old video of similar incident shared by an Ibom Air passenger.
The passenger had, in the post accused the air hostess of being rude to passengers, recounting how she had in an Accra to Lagos bound flight allegedly provoked and de-boarded a male passenger from the aircraft.
While the controversies surrounding the incident linger on, an eye witness who was on board the flight had recounted what transpired between Emmanson and the air hostess.
As against claims of Emmanson being rude to the air hostess, the passenger who pleaded anonymity in a leaked WhatsApp voice note claimed that the air hostess started the whole issue.
The eyewitness, who accused Ibom Air of painting the narrative that best suits them, recounted how Emmanson had informed the air hostess that her phone was already in flight mode after being told to turn it off.
The air hostess would in response abuse and verbally assaulted Emmanson who, according to eye witness, remained calm.
He further disclosed how the Ibom Air official smashed the lady’s phone while also preventing her from alighting until the arrival of security operatives.
The eye witness said; “Honestly, that lady did not do up to 10 percent of what I would have done if I were in her shoes. The truth is those people posted the narrative of what they want people to see. They created and painted the narrative that they want people to see so that people could actually pity them.
“This lady was not insulting. She was not rude. The whole issue started from the air hostess. That lady is power drunk. That’s the word I can use to describe it. She’s all these kind of Nigerian elders that want everything they say should be done the way they said it, how they want it, and when they want it.
“Mind you, I was in the flight. How do you go and meet someone and said off your phone and the person said sorry my phone is on flight mode. I’m actually just going through my videos.
“And the next is to raise your voice that all these useless children. All these people wey no get respect. Do I look like your mate? And lady kept telling you that I’ve off it. The lady even tried to show you, you took the phone and smash it on the floor.
“The lady kept quite. People were even trying to tell you that Madam he don do and you’re asking them whether they want to bring the plane down. Now the lady has kept her phone and you started running abuses.
“It was her time to alight from the plane, you blocked her that you have called security on her. The lady will try to pass, you will push her away and tell every other person to pass. It’s the part that they want the country to see that they posted.
“The truth is when those security people came, that girl was very quite. From the dragging of clothes to the slapping. That air hostess literally slapped that lady.
“The lady did not even raise hand. If na me, I for beat am first before dem say see wetin I really do. You smashed her phone, pushed her in the floor so that people could step on her and pass.
“When the security men came, there was a Pastor on board who said they should calm down that this is not what happened.
“The next thing that came out of your mouth is that you want them to use that man as example. Whether na two of them plan to come bring down the plane.
“You insulted the lady, you slapped her. You even went ahead to call her a prostitute and all sort of things.
“If you fit do this my voice note make people hear am, I go happy well well. But the truth is this, for me to come out he go hard because Nigeria matter, you know how as he dey be, especially how dem take do this girl.wey do NYSC.”