Comfort Emmanson, the air passenger at the centre of the controversial Ibom Air incident, has shared her side of the story following her arrest, arraignment, and eventual discharge by a Lagos court.
In an 11-minute video posted on Instagram on Sunday, the real estate consultant described the episode as “traumatic,” thanking those who stood by her during the ordeal.
She recounted that the dispute began on August 10, 2025, during a Uyo–Lagos flight when a crew member, identified as Juliana, allegedly insisted she power off her phones instead of using flight mode. Emmanson explained that one of the phones had a faulty power button and, with the help of another passenger, she eventually switched both devices off.
The confrontation, she said, worsened upon arrival in Lagos when the same attendant allegedly blocked her from disembarking. Emmanson claimed she was then assaulted, with her wig pulled, clothes torn, and necklace broken.
“When we landed in Lagos, everybody was getting out of the aircraft. I went to pee. Coming outside, everybody had already left. I had to rush, carry my stuff and move to rush out of the aircraft. Going out of the aircraft, this lady, Juliana, stopped me and I asked her, ‘Why did you stop me?’ ‘Why are you stopping me from going out of the aircraft?
Everybody has left. So I need to go out.’ She didn’t say anything to me. She stared at me with a bad eye. I picked up my phone and started recording. That was when she pushed me back inside the aircraft, dragged my wig frontal, tore my clothes and broke my necklace. The pain was unbearable.
“They dragged me outside, tore my clothes, exposed my body, and people were taking videos. I felt humiliated. The trauma is so much on me because I cannot even go out freely anymore,” she lamented.
She insisted that her reaction was triggered by the pain and humiliation she suffered, rejecting claims that she attacked the attendant unprovoked. “God knows I would never poke an elderly woman old enough to be my mother. It was the pain she inflicted on me, dragging my wig and stripping me in public, that made me react,” she said.
Emmanson also decried what she called “false narratives” about the incident, including claims of political undertones. She apologised for her outburst, stressing that she is neither violent nor wayward but was only responding to what she described as an unprovoked assault. “I only wish for redemption and to regain whatever dignity I have left as a woman,” she added.
The incident, widely circulated through viral videos, has drawn public debate on airline conduct, passenger rights, and the handling of in-flight disputes.
