Ibom Air fracas: Comfort begins life at Kirikiri; NBA wades in

However, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday condemned as reckless and unlawful, the treatment of the passenger who had sensitive parts of her body exposed in a viral video.

The NBA also disagreed with Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, over the indefinite ‘no fly’ ban slammed on the passenger, just as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, replied those drawing similarity between the ValueJet incident which involved musician, Wasiu Ayinde, also known as Kwam 1, and that of the Ibom Air passenger, saying both incidents were not same.

A source within the prison, who told Vanguard yesterday that Comfort Bob was brought into the Female Prisons, Kirikiri, with a remand order, disclosed that the 26-year-old student was calm and did not betray any emotion and was promptly processed as a first time offender.

The source said: “When she was brought in yesterday (Monday), she was classified as a first time offender and kept separate from other inmates. She didn’t really show any emotions here but she came with her luggage.

“Since she is not a government official and also not a well-known individual, she did not qualify as a very important person. She might have been known for the fracas at the airport, but our classification here doesn’t qualify her as a VIP.

“During her admission process handled by our senior official, she was briefed on the rules and regulations of the female prison. She was also given an option of skills available in the prison that she can learn.

“We have schools and vocational training here. Even if someone is staying for just a week or a month, they don’t remain idle in a cell — they are encouraged to learn something.

“In the past, these opportunities were only for convicted inmates, but now we also offer them to those awaiting trial, whose numbers are far higher than the convicted population.”

Asked if the inmate had received any visitor since she was brought in, the source disclosed that a few people visited her yesterday.

The source, however, refused to disclose the identity of the visitors, saying it is against prison rules to do so.

“It is within her right to receive visitors and one or two persons visited her yesterday. I don’t know if they are her relatives but it is also against rules here to disclose the identity of visitors.”

Another source also told Vanguard late yesterday that officials of the female prison have been instructed not to divulge information about Comfort’s stay in the facility.

Meanwhile, a passenger aboard the aircraft who witnessed what transpired, Olubunmi Balogun Shonubi, took to her Facebook page yesterday to recount what happened.

She recounted: “Funny enough, I was on this flight and this babe sat right next to me across the aisle. We were on the emergency row.

“When she came in, one of the air hostesses (the one she slapped) was very polite and helpful during the flight told the girl to switch off her phone for take-off etc.

‘’After she left, one other ‘witch’ of an air hostess came and really spoke down on the girl. The girl told her the button on her phone for switch off was not working. The woman replied that it is an iPhone and does not need a button.

‘’The girl said she does not know how to do it. The woman told her to go to the settings etc. and the girl said: ’Please, take my phone and do it. I cannot read.’’’

NBA condemns lifetime ban on passenger, pledges legal support

Reacting to the incident yesterday, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, condemned as reckless and unlawful, the treatment of Ms. Comfort Bob.

NBA, which is the umbrella body of legal practitioners in the country, in a statement jointly signed by its President and Secretary-General, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, and Dr. Mobolaji Ojibara, respectively, further described the lifetime flight ban imposed on the passenger by Ibom Air and the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, as arbitrary and unjust.

The NBA statement read: “It is deeply disturbing that Ms. Emmanson was forcibly removed from the aircraft, stripped of her clothing in public, and subjected to humiliation that was filmed and circulated online.

“Such conduct is degrading, violates her right to dignity and privacy, and falls far short of the standards of civility and professionalism expected in the aviation sector.

“No person, regardless of the circumstances, should be treated in such a dehumanising manner.

“While Ibom Air has issued its own account of events, other video footage has emerged showing an Ibom Air hostess preventing Ms. Bob from alighting from the aircraft, a conduct that could constitute false imprisonment and a possible provocation that escalated the situation.

“This makes it all the more critical that the matter be subjected to an independent, impartial investigation by the appropriate authorities before any disciplinary action is taken against her.

“The decision to impose a lifetime ban without affording Ms. Emmanson a fair opportunity to be heard is equally troubling.

“Ibom Air has so far only presented its own version of events without giving her the chance to respond. This one-sided process, culminating in a ban supported by AON, breaches the fundamental principle of fair hearing and renders the decision legally and morally indefensible.