Human rights activist, Aisha Yesufu, has strongly condemned what she described as selective justice in the handling of the Ibom Air passenger case.
Yesufu criticised the “two justice systems” in Nigeria, saying that the handling of the Ibom Air passenger incident exposed inequality before the law in Nigeria.
In a video she 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 Emmason, an Ibom Air passenger who assaulted airline officials and got remanded in Kirikiri Prison Lagos after being charged to court.
On Sunday, 10 August, 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 protocol.
The situation escalated when another passenger reportedly forcefully switched off the device, but Emmanson retaliated with an aggressive outburst.
She was also reported to have attacked another crew member and attempted to use a fire extinguisher as a weapon, a move the airline regarded as capable of endangering the aircraft.
Following the incident, Ibom Air banned Emmanson indefinitely from flying aboard its aircraft.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) also placed her on a lifetime no-fly list, for both domestic and international flights, citing the violent nature of the attack.
She was arrested by airport security and handed over to police, ultimately charged in court and remanded at Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
Reacting to the issue, Yesufu, while stressing she was “not against the charges and accusations” against Emmason, said the law must apply equally to everyone.
“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,” she said.
Yesufu specifically contrasted Emmanson’s treatment with that of Fuji musician King Wasiu Ayinde (KWAM 1) and former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole.
Both were involved in recent airline-related incidents but were not charged, remanded, or treated with comparable severity.
She also condemned the way security personnel removed the passenger, alleging that she was dragged in a manner that 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.”
Yesufu stressed that she was not excusing Emmason’s behaviour but called for equal treatment under the law.
She said, “You cannot continue to do this. There are so many things that were wrong about the whole thing.
“There are some people that can be so obnoxious when you are in the flight. There have been many times I had to control myself to keep quiet because you see some people they kept telling to switch off their phones but they keep arguing.
“Just the way they asked King Wasiu to come down. King Wasiu Ayinde, according to reports, actually poured whatever he had in the plane and even was stopping an aircraft.
“But he has not been remanded. He sent in an apology letter and after an apology letter, he was threatening the airline, and nothing has been done to him.
“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. Adams Oshiomhole also did his own with Air Peace, including reports that his people attacked officials there, yet, nobody remanded him.
“Or the Ministry of Aviation was not working, or is it because Adams Oshiomhole is in the same party as they are or is it because King Wasiu Marshal can have a phone call with Tinubu?
“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.”
She condemned the airline staff’s method of restraining Emmanson, claiming she was dragged such that her dress tore and exposed her breasts, labeling it sexual harassment and a deliberate public humiliation.
Yesufu said, “Also, 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. Anyone could get agitated because you don’t know if you are about to be kidnapped.
“Secondly, imagine the way they dragged her out. Do they even train the security agents on what to do.
“They dragged her as if they were dragging chicken and someone from the back drew her dress that it tore and exposed her breasts.
“Yet, you pulled that particular part aside. 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.”
Visibly angry, the activist said, “You could have cut that out, make your statement without including that part but you needed to show that you have humiliated her and now she will forever live with the fact that her body part she had covered when she left her house and entered your plane is now all out on display and people will continue to make caricature with it.
“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 of whatever it is but there are better ways that Ibom Air could have handled that issue, not in the way that humiliated her.
“I wonder why certain men who have privileges would do the same thing or even worse than hers but you didn’t handle them that same way.
“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? Why was it only Comfort that they felt comfortable dragging on the floor and displaying her body all over the space?
“There are a whole lot that is wrong there, and then they dragged her to court and remanded her but the other people have not been remanded.
“I will say it again, selective justice is actually injustice.”