Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, and Human Rights Activist, Aisha Yesufu, have sharply condemned Nigerian airport staff who allegedly released a video showing a female passenger’s breasts. The video was recorded while the passenger, Comfort Emmason, was being arrested at the airport in Lagos after she allegedly had a fight with an air hostess while onboard an Ibom Air flight.
According to Mr. Keyamo, while the use of video evidence is commendable to aid prosecution, the public release of the video showing the passenger’s breasts is unacceptable.
Mr. Keyamo described the release of the video as “totally unacceptable” and “debas[ing] to womanhood,” directing that the staff responsible be identified and sanctioned.
He says “I have also directed that the airlines must continue to train and retrain their staff in public relations and how to deal with potentially explosive situations in order to diffuse them promptly or nip them in the bud, except when it becomes inevitable.”
The incident occurred on August 10, 2025, aboard Ibom Air Flight Q153 from Uyo to Lagos at 14:54 hours. Ibom Airline says the passenger refused to switch off her mobile phone during take-off in violation of international aviation safety regulations, sparking a confrontation that escalated into physical assaults on both flight crew and ground staff.
Keyamo disclosed in a statement on Monday that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had imposed an indefinite ban on the passenger, covering both domestic and international flights.
Activist Yesufu described the handling of Comfort by the airport security and the subsequent release of the video as sexual harassment and humiliation.
Speaking about the manner in which Comfort was arrested and the release of her nude video, Ms. Yesufu says “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.”
She added that “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.”
According to Ms. Yesufu, the situation could have been handled with more dignity.
“Imagine the way they dragged her out. Do they even train the security agents on what to do?”
She lamented that “They dragged her as if they were dragging chicken and someone from the back drew her dress that it tore and exposed her breasts.”
She said.“Do you even understand what happens to her mental state? I’m not saying that what Comfort Emmason did was right… but there are better ways that Ibom Air could have handled that issue, not in the way that humiliated her.”
Meanwhile, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has placed a lifetime no-fly ban on Comfort Emmanson over the alleged assault of the air hostess.
According to AON, she has been banned from flying both locally and internationally.
Mr. Keyamo says Nigerian police promptly arraigned Comfort at the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning for criminal offences, after which she was remanded at Kirikiri Prison for failing to meet bail conditions.
