Daily Trust Editorial, Monday August 18, 2025
Nigeria’s aviation sector recently showcased embarrassing scenes of passenger unruliness and risky behaviours.
The first on August 5, involved popular Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1), ValueJet, and the airline’s crew at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja. The second was the Sunday August 10 highly publicised altercation on Uyo-Lagos Ibom Air flight involving a passenger, Comfort Emmanson, who allegedly assaulted a crew member and was forcibly removed from the aircraft.
Both incidents revolved around deliberate inability to obey aircraft and ground crew requests and displays of unruly disregard of aviation safety procedures that jeopardised safety of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft and severe risks to ground personnel and other aircraft in the vicinity. The very idea of preventing an aircraft from taxiing and unwillingness to obey crew instructions, under any guise, is significant violation of international aviation safety regulations, and misses the point about aviation safety.
But the ValueJet and Ibom Air rumpus weren’t novel as similar incidents either went unreported or were swept under the carpet, after they were reported. For example, On April 12, 2025, three passengers who were alleged to have drank three bottles of liquid suspected to be alcohol midair on a London Gatwick-Lagos Air Peace flight refused repeated appeals from the captain to stop their unruly behaviour as there were clear dangers involved. The pilot was forced to radio security in Lagos and upon landing, there were no consequences for their actions.
On June 11, Senator representing Edo North and former Governor of Edo State, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, physically stopped Air Peace Airlines staff at the MMA2 Ikeja from carrying out their legitimate duties because he was not allowed to board an aircraft that had departed. The Senator came late after the check-in counter had closed, claimed he checked in online, but couldn’t produce a genuine boarding pass to that effect. Again, there was no consequences.
There is clearly cause for alarm as this is not a problem of standards, annexes, protocols, or procedures but a Nigerian problem which imbeds lack of seriousness especially as the world takes aviation security as top priority.
But with this history of persistent infractions, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on August 13 directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to withdraw its criminal complaint against KWAM 1, instructed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to name him as ambassador for proper airport security protocols. He also restored the licenses of ValueJet pilots after a one-month suspension and mandatory professional reappraisal.
Keyamo then directed Ibom Air to withdraw its criminal complaint against Emmanson, facilitated her release from Kirikiri Prison and appealed to Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to lift the lifetime flying ban imposed on her. Of course, all these directives were promptly carried out.
But Daily Trust believes strongly that it is not the minister’s duty to order Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), AON and airlines on carrying out their statutory duties. The optics are not good as Nigeria’s aviation safety and security framework is significantly shaped, not by any domestic considerations, but by International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) standards, with the NCAA charged with implementing and maintaining these standards. And it developed a State Safety Programme (SSP) aligned with ICAO Annex 19 meant to improve its aviation safety and security oversight systems.
Therefore, imposing direct administration on NCAA may be putting Nigeria under the bus, after all, under ICAO SARP’s and the Safety Oversight Manual (Doc 9734), a national aviation regulator must maintain functional and organisational independence – meaning it should be shielded from political or commercial influences when making safety and certification decisions. NCAA’s autonomy under Section 4(3) of the Civil Aviation Act 2022 states: “The Authority shall be independent in the discharge of its duties and functions under this Act and … shall not … take directives from any person or authority.”
Under these ministerial directives, enforcement of laws is being replaced with political solutions, making the enthronement of safety culture difficult. Instead of using the incidents as wake up call to clamp down on security lapses, the minister may have inadvertently given perpetrators of unruly behaviours slap on the wrist. This is dangerous as it could negatively affect regular ICAO audits of Nigeria to assess its effective implementation of safety and security standards.
Daily Trust insists on clear obedience to all aviation safety and security guidelines including the instructions of cabin crew members who have the responsibility to enforce the terms and conditions of flying onboard. The lethargy in enforcing this may put strain on public confidence in safety on board aircraft and around aviation facilities.
We demand more seriousness and a stop in treating the worsening security breaches with kid gloves. The era of poor sanction system, absence of consequences for infractions must stop. There should be clear penalties for unruly behaviours or disobedience to lawful instructions as NCAA and other agencies must never again seem encumbered by political interference in carrying out their statutory mandate.
While we urge NCAA and other agencies to launch safety awareness campaign for all airport users, all infractions should be met with necessary fines, flight ban, and criminal prosecution. There must be seriousness with precedent-setting actions and prosecution under Nigeria’s aviation and criminal laws. Moreover, critical workers in the aviation sector should learn the art of de-escalation and conflict management under CRM (Crew resource management) training.
NCAA should never look ineffective in enforcing its safety rules and those it signed under ICAO. All individuals must be held accountable for their actions, regardless of their status or position. Nothing should be done that will result in decategorizing Nigeria, which is the risk with the current trend. Aviation is not a sector that can be muddled with rules that fits local considerations.
