{"id":121377,"date":"2025-08-12T05:51:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T04:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=121377"},"modified":"2025-08-12T05:51:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T04:51:07","slug":"peter-obi-slams-fg-over-double-standards-in-ibom-air-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/peter-obi-slams-fg-over-double-standards-in-ibom-air-saga\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Obi Slams FG Over Double Standards in Ibom Air Saga"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cStripping 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.\u201d<\/div>\n
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While Obi was unequivocal in condemning Emmanson\u2019s assault on the flight crew, he argued that the state\u2019s reaction exposed a deeply rooted culture of selective justice, where the poor are punished swiftly, and the influential are shielded from consequences.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJustice in Nigeria must never be about who is poor or powerless versus who has influence or access to government officials,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe must build a country where justice is fair, equal, and not selective, especially against women who are seen to be weaker,\u201d he stated, calling the contrasting outcomes \u201ca damning indictment of our system.\u201d<\/div>\n
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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.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Minister of Aviation and other relevant authorities owe the public an explanation for these double standards in their adjudication,\u201d Obi insisted.<\/div>\n
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He warned that failure to uphold consistent and civilised standards of law enforcement would only continue to erode public trust and worsen social division.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis young lady\u2019s offence does not compare to the crimes committed daily by those parading themselves as \u2018excellencies\u2019 while looting public funds without consequence,\u201d he added. \u201cYet they have not been stripped or dehumanised in the name of justice.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Obi\u2019s 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\u2019s justice system swift against the vulnerable, but hesitant against the powerful.<\/div>\n
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\u201cJustice must be just, or it is nothing at all,\u201d Obi concluded. \u201cThe rule of law based on justice for all must remain the guidepost of our democracy. A new Nigeria is possible.<\/div>\n
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As public scrutiny intensifies, Obi\u2019s 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.<\/div>\n
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