Comfort Emmanson, the air passenger at the centre of a widely reported Ibom Air incident, has broken her silence, giving a detailed account of the events that led to her arrest, arraignment, and eventual discharge by a Lagos court.
In an 11-minute video posted on her Instagram page on Sunday, the real estate consultant described the August 10 ordeal as “traumatic” while expressing gratitude to friends and supporters who stood by her.
Emmanson recounted that the incident began on board a flight from Uyo to Lagos, when a flight attendant identified as Juliana insisted she switch off her phones rather than place them in flight mode. According to her, one of the devices had a faulty power button.
“I showed her the phone and told her the power button was bad. She said I could still switch it off through the settings. With the help of a fellow passenger, I eventually managed to switch off both phones,” Emmanson narrated.
She alleged that the altercation escalated after landing in Lagos, when the same flight attendant stopped her from disembarking.
“Everybody had already left. I had to rush, carry my stuff and move to go out of the aircraft. Going out, this lady, Juliana, stopped me. I asked her, ‘Why are you stopping me from going out? Everybody has left.’ That was when things got heated,” she said.
Emmanson further alleged that she was “dragged down” during the confrontation, claiming that her swimsuit was torn in the process.
“My swimsuit was clipped below my privates and torn. Imagine the pain as a woman. I would never lay hands on someone old enough to be my mother if she hadn’t assaulted me first,” she stated, adding that her reaction came “from a place of pain.”
In a follow-up Instagram story, she dismissed circulating claims that her ordeal was politically motivated.
“There have been lots of narratives being pushed about the incident, even by respected individuals, some claiming my suffering was political. These are all false. I have received constant victimisation and libel. I only wish for redemption and to regain whatever dignity I have left as a woman,” she wrote.
Acknowledging her behaviour on board, she apologised but maintained that she acted under duress.
“I am not crazy, neither am I wayward. I have never been in such a situation in my life, and I don’t wish it on my enemy,” she said.
While Emmanson has now been discharged of the charges, the controversy surrounding the flight remains a hot topic, with Ibom Air yet to issue a fresh statement on her version of events.
