The official spokesperson of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, has invited anyone with useful information on the recent altercation on Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos to reach out to him as the agency tries to establish the truth.
Achimugu took to the microblogging site, X, to make the request, saying it is in the interest of justice and fairness.
Initial information was that Comfort Emmanson attacked the air hostess after she was asked to switch off her phone before the plane took off.
A video of Emmanson hitting some officials and being carried out of the flight cabin later flooded social media.
Much later, a video showing Emmanson complaining that all the passengers had disembarked but she was being prevented from disembarking also emerged.
Some netizens opined that the story might have been one-sided, considering that no mention was made of the passenger being denied exit.
Some have suggested that the air hostesses might have deliberately provoked the passenger to get her to act irrationally.
Achimugu is now calling for third-party testimonies from those on the Ibom Air Uyo-Lagos flight (IAN513) who witnessed the events that led to the fracas.
He asked them to reach him urgently at michael.achimugu@ncaa.gov.ng
Achimugu said he would verify that the person was indeed on the flight so that he could obtain other perspectives on the case.
He noted that this does not excuse the exhibition of unruly behaviour and its ramifications, but that it would enable them to know anyone else who was culpable so they could be held accountable.
Achimugu said NCAA would also reach out to security agencies who played a role in the incident to get their perspectives.
