The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified why Nigerian Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as K1 de Ultimate (Kwam 1), was not charged to court by ValueJet, unlike Ibom Air’s decision to take legal action against its passenger, Comfort Emmanson, over alleged unruly behaviour.
NCAA spokesperson Michael Achimugu made the clarification in an interview on Monday.
His explanation follows the arraignment of Emmanson in court earlier on Monday, which led to her being remanded in prison — a development that has sparked mixed reactions from Nigerians. Among those who weighed in, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, described her treatment as “double standards.”
Achimugu stressed that the NCAA did not sue Kwam 1 or Emmanson, as the decision to prosecute rests with the respective airlines.
“The Ibom Air passenger was arrested and charged in court by the airline. The airline exercised its right to sue the unruly passenger in court. So long as that case is in court, the NCAA has no role to play in it.
“But in the Kwam 1 case, since the airline did not sue or take the passenger to court, the NCAA, which also does not have prosecutorial powers, decided to do the right thing by criminally referring the case to the Attorney General and Inspector General of Police,” he explained.
Achimugu added that if ValueJet had arrested and taken Kwam 1 to court on the day of the incident, the NCAA would not have been involved at all.
Without such action, the authority’s role was limited to petitioning the Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector General of Police for prosecution over the alleged misconduct at a Nigerian airport.
