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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi has criticized the Nigerian justice system following the controversial treatment of a female passenger involved in an altercation on board an Ibom Air flight.
In a statement released on Monday on his official X handle (formerly Twitter), Obi condemned both the assault by the passenger, Miss Comfort Emmanson, and the disproportionate and dehumanising response by security officials, calling it a “shameful display of double standards, abuse of power, and injustice.
“Stripping her publicly was not only unnecessary but also represents the height of rascality and abuse by our agencies. It is unacceptable that she was hurriedly taken to court and remanded, while someone who visibly held a plane from taking off and put hundreds of lives at risk is still at large.”
While Obi was unequivocal in condemning Emmanson’s assault on the flight crew, he argued that the state’s reaction exposed a deeply rooted culture of selective justice, where the poor are punished swiftly, and the influential are shielded from consequences.
“Justice in Nigeria must never be about who is poor or powerless versus who has influence or access to government officials,” he said.
Obi noted with alarm that while Emmanson was arrested, stripped in public, and promptly jailed, another high-profile individual who delayed a commercial flight jeopardizing the safety and schedule of countless passengers has not faced arrest, trial, or any formal consequence.
“We must build a country where justice is fair, equal, and not selective, especially against women who are seen to be weaker,” he stated, calling the contrasting outcomes “a damning indictment of our system.”
The former Anambra State governor went further, demanding that the Minister of Aviation and all relevant authorities provide answers for what he described as an unjust, shameful episode.
“The Minister of Aviation and other relevant authorities owe the public an explanation for these double standards in their adjudication,” Obi insisted.
He warned that failure to uphold consistent and civilised standards of law enforcement would only continue to erode public trust and worsen social division.
“This young lady’s offence does not compare to the crimes committed daily by those parading themselves as ‘excellencies’ while looting public funds without consequence,” he added. “Yet they have not been stripped or dehumanised in the name of justice.”
Obi’s statement has reignited national conversations around abuse of state power, class privilege, and gender-based injustices. For many, the Ibom Air saga has become symbolic of the rot in Nigeria’s justice system swift against the vulnerable, but hesitant against the powerful.
“Justice must be just, or it is nothing at all,” Obi concluded. “The rule of law based on justice for all must remain the guidepost of our democracy. A new Nigeria is possible.
As public scrutiny intensifies, Obi’s intervention places pressure on federal aviation authorities and security operatives to revisit their handling of the incident not just to seek redress for Miss Emmanson, but to ensure that Nigerians are treated equally under the law, regardless of social status.