Days After Release from Kirikiri, Comfort Emmanson Finally Opens Up on Ibom Air Ordeal
Days after regaining freedom from Kirikiri Prison in Lagos following her much-publicised altercation on-board an Ibom Air flight, Comfort Emmanson has finally broken her silence, sharing in detail what she described as a harrowing and humiliating experience.
Speaking through a video on her Instagram handle soft_commy, Emmanson, who still had a drip line on her hand, maintained that she was assaulted, stripped, and traumatised by a member of Ibom Air’s cabin crew after a disagreement over the instruction to switch off her phone during a flight from Uyo to Lagos.
PulseNets learnt that the incident, which has since gone viral, sparked intense debates around passenger rights, airline safety regulations, and the limits of crew conduct.
“I Was Assaulted Over My Phone” — Emmanson Speaks
Recounting her ordeal, Emmanson told PulseNets that she had initially complied with the airline’s instruction to power down her devices but ran into difficulties with one of her phones.
“One of their air hostesses, her name is Juliana, said I should put off my phone. I told her that one of my phones was off already. I brought out the other one and showed her that the power button is bad.
She said I can turn off my phone without the power button. I told her okay, can you help me? She said she will not touch my phone. I told her if you can’t touch my phone, help me to spell general. She refused to spell it for me.”
She explained that a fellow passenger, an engineer, eventually helped her switch off both devices.
But according to her, the situation escalated after landing in Lagos.
“Juliana Blocked Me, Dragged My Wig, and Broke My Phone”
Emmanson reported that after most passengers had disembarked, she stayed back to ease herself before leaving the aircraft. However, she alleged that Juliana, the air hostess, deliberately blocked her exit.
“I begged her, I said please let me pass. She did not answer me. She was just looking at me with a bad face. She said no. I took my phone and started recording what was happening. She now pushed me back inside the aircraft. She held me, dragged my frontal hair, dragged my clothes, dragged the gold on my neck. My phone fell down in the process and broke.”
She added that in reaction to the excruciating pain of having her frontal wig forcefully pulled, she poked the hostess — insisting it was not premeditated but a reflex from being physically hurt and humiliated.
“They Tore My Clothes, Videotaped My Naked Body”
The Uyo-born lady spoke to PulseNets about the deeper trauma, claiming she was stripped in full view of others and videoed while trying to cover herself.
“My body was outside. I was trying to cover myself, and they were videoing. Cameras were everywhere. Tearing my clothes and videoing everything, my naked body outside. The pain was too much for one person to bear.
While they dragged me out, my inner body was exposed. Some even tried to touch me. I was looking for where to cover myself, but they were surrounding me with cameras.”
She lamented that the viral circulation of those videos has now left her ashamed to step outside.
“As I am talking to you now, I cannot go out again because my body is out there. People know me. Some have even used it to make a sticker. How do I face people, clients, or even my unborn children seeing my body online?”
A Father’s Anguish
Her distraught father also spoke in a video that surfaced online, condemning the incident and demanding compensation from Ibom Air.
“How can an Ibom Air hostess strip my daughter naked just because of a little misunderstanding on their plane and tarnish our image? Is it because I don’t have money or anybody in power?”
He told PulseNets that the family has been devastated by the viral video, which he described as a humiliating attack on their dignity.
“I Leave Everything to God” — Emmanson Clarifies
However, in a late-night clarification, Emmanson stressed that she had chosen to leave the matter — and the air hostess in question, Juliana Edward — to God.
Also Read: AON Lifts Lifetime No-Fly Ban on Ibom Air Passenger Comfort Emmanson After Minister’s Intervention
“I leave the story of what happened between me and Juliana Edward, the air hostess, before the video that was published on social media, to God and He will judge us both accordingly.
Whatever reaction I had after being dragged down from the plane came from a place of deep pain. My swimsuit was dragged when I was being stripped naked. It was clipped beneath my private parts. Imagine the pain as a woman, then tell me how you would react while going through such an ordeal.”
Emmanson also apologised for her reaction during the incident, describing it as a painful turning point in her life.
“So this is my part of the story. This is all that happened inside the aircraft. I am happy I am strong enough now to talk. Please, this is what happened. I am not a troublesome person. I am not a nuisance. People who know me in real life know the kind of person I am.”
