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Summary
Nigerians, including Activist Aisha Yesufu, singer Simi, and BBN star Alex Unusual, have condemned Ibom Air for forcibly dragging passenger Comfort Emmanson from a flight, tearing her clothes and exposing her breasts in a viral video. Civil society groups have demanded accountability from Ibom Air and condemned selective justice in Nigeria.
Prominent voices, including activist Aisha Yesufu, BBN reality star Alex Unusual, and singer Simi, have condemned Ibom Air after a passenger, Comfort Emmanson, was forcibly dragged from a flight, during which her clothes were torn, exposing her breasts.
The incident, which occurred on August 10, 2025, began when Comfort reportedly refused to switch off her mobile phone as instructed by the cabin crew, saying she had already put it on flight mode. The situation reportedly led to an outburst, with another passenger switching off her device. The situation was eventually calmed, and the flight departed as scheduled.
However, upon arrival in Lagos, Comfort was filmed being forcibly dragged off an Ibom Air flight by the aircraft staff, during which her shirt tore and her bare breasts were exposed.
Reacting to the incident, Singer Simi called for the sanctioning of airport staff who released an indecent video of Ibom Air Comfort Emmanson. The singer emphasised that sharing the video without blurring out Comfort’s private parts was an invasion of her privacy and deserved punishment.
“Voluntarily posting her half-naked for millions of people to see when less than 10 people actually witnessed it in the first place deserves punishment too because you cannot condemn one madness and leave another one,” she said.
BBN star Alex Unusual criticised a man on her Instagram who tried to justify the treatment of Comfort in the Ibom Air incident. She said the airline could have removed the passenger without exposing her private parts.
“Ibom Air will have an excuse or flimsy explanation, but this woman’s breasts had no business being on the internet,” Alex stated, noting that two wrongs don’t make a right.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, promised to identify and sanction the person responsible for releasing the video of Comfort, including her bare chest, while updating the public that Comfort has been charged in court and remanded in KiriKiri Prison. Meanwhile, Ibom Air banned Comfort Emmanson indefinitely, while the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) placed her on a lifetime no-fly list for both domestic and international flights.
Following this, Aisha Yesufu criticised the “two justice systems” in Nigeria, saying justice should not depend on a person’s social standing. She stressed that while she was not opposed to Comfort facing charges, the same legal standards should apply to all.
She compared Comfort Emmanson’s punishment to that of Fuji musician King Wasiu Ayinde (KWAM 1) and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who were reportedly involved in disruptive airline incidents but were neither charged nor remanded. She claimed they were spared harsh treatment because of political connections.
“The reason it is the rule of law is that it applies to everybody, not that it applies to some people and not to some other people,” she said.
Civil societies have also called Comfort’s remand in Kirikiri excessive and offered her legal representation. The Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development condemned Comfort Emmanson’s treatment as “unfair, unjust, and unacceptable,” and called for a thorough probe into Ibom Air and aviation regulators.
