Shola Adekola, Lagos
Barring any minute of change, the unruly passenger debarked and handed over to the police for making sensitive statement about President-elect, Bola Tinubu onboard an Ibom Air Abuja/Lagos bound flight on Friday will appear in the magistrate court located within the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja today, Monday.
According to information gathered, the affected passenger, Obiajulu Uja ran into trouble when he was said to have openly declared his grievance against the All Progressive Congress (APC) President-elect, Tinubu as the incoming president.
He was said to have created a scene onboard the flight as he continued to shout ‘Obidients’ and kicked against the proposed swearing in of Tinubu as the next president of Nigeria, a situation which created commotion in the aircraft.
The management of the airline, however, invited the security officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Abuja airport who forcefully dragged the passenger off the plane and subsequently handed him over to the Abuja airport police command.
A police source who spoke under the condition of anonymity confirmed to NIGERIAN TRIBUNE in Lagos that the passenger will be arraigned in the court within the Abuja airport on Monday since the offense was committed within the airport.
Efforts made to speak with the Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, of Ibom Air, Aniekan Essienette did not yield positive result as she only referred the Nigerian Tribune reporter to the Abuja aviation Security.
When NIGERIAN TRIBUNE contacted the spokesperson of FAAN, Mr Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, she equally said the case had already been transferred to the airport police post.
The lawyer of the passenger, Barrister Ejike Ugwu who had earlier said the passenger, Obiajulu Uja was mentally challenged, emphasized that his client was not in the right frame of mind before boarding the flight and that he was chased out of an Abuja hotel due to his mental state.
According to the Barrister: “Obiajulu is not in the right state of mind; before he boarded the flight, he was chased away from a hotel in Abuja because of his mental state.
“He even booked three different flights for the Lagos trip. He booked Aero, Dana, and Ibom Air. He had three tickets for the same trip. So, there is no doubt that he is mentally challenged.”
A statement earlier issued on the arrest of the passenger by the management of the Airline through the Group Manager, Marketing and Communication, Aniekan Essienette declared: “A passenger stood up and began addressing other passengers in a manner considered inappropriate and unruly, as he was making other passengers nervous.
“Our crew deemed his continuous unruly behavior unsafe and called on airport security to help with the situation. Upon his refusal to stop or disembark peacefully, the security operatives were left with no choice but to forcefully disembark the passenger as a last option.
“We are aware that several videos and reports of this incident are circulating on social media and wish to provide the right perspective.”
The flight which could have taken off from the Abuja Airport at 6pm on Friday could not depart until 7pm.
