Comfort Emmanson, the passenger accused of assaulting airline staff aboard an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos, has been charged to court and remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.

Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Tunde Moshood, Festus Keyamo, SAN, confirmed the development in a post on his official X handle on Monday.

“The more reason the flying public should be more careful, the unruly passenger on the Uyo–Lagos bound Ibom Air, Miss Comfort Emmanson, has been charged to court and she’s now cooling off in Kirikiri,” Moshood wrote.

The incident comes amid repeated warnings from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority that it will intensify enforcement against disruptive passengers a problem it says is increasing across Nigerian airports.

A viral video showed Emmanson repeatedly slapping an Ibom Air purser after she was allegedly instructed to switch off her phone before take-off.

In a statement on Monday, the airline announced it had banned her from flying with the carrier following the assault on one of its crew members.

According to Ibom Air, the altercation began in Uyo before departure when Emmanson refused to follow the safety rule requiring passengers to switch off their mobile devices.

The airline said a passenger seated beside her eventually switched off the phone, prompting a verbal outburst.

Upon arrival in Lagos, Ibom Air said Emmanson confronted the purser who had earlier given the instruction and physically attacked her.

The carrier alleged she also tried to seize a fire extinguisher an intention to damage and ground the aircraft, and stressed that her conduct posed a serious safety risk to crew, passengers, and the aircraft itself.

The case mirrors a recent episode involving Fuji musician King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as KWAM 1 or K1, who attempted to stop a ValueJet aircraft from taking off after being deboarded.