Ibom Air has firmly denied responsibility for the viral video showing a passenger in an indecent state during a recent onboard disturbance.
The airline’s Group Manager for Marketing and Communications, Aniekan Essienette, addressed the controversy during an interview with TVC News on Monday.
The statement comes after Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo ordered sanctions against any airline staff found to have leaked the footage. While acknowledging that recording such incidents for legal purposes is acceptable, Keyamo condemned the public release of footage containing indecent exposure as “totally unacceptable.”
Essienette clarified that while the recording occurred onboard an Ibom Air aircraft, multiple non-staff individuals were present who could have captured and shared the video. “As much as the video was taken on board, we had several other people that were not Ibom Air employees around the vicinity. So, anyone could have taken that video,” she explained.
The marketing manager categorically denied the airline’s involvement in releasing the footage: “I can tell you categorically that the video was not released by us. It is rather unfortunate that it has gone viral. We do not condone such indecent exposure, so we would not have been the ones to release it.”
Essienette detailed the circumstances leading to the passenger’s removal, stating the individual had resisted crew instructions to disembark. “She had tried to come out earlier, but she was restrained because of some activities that had happened behind the scene and eventually, the pilot in-command had to call security,” she said. “For us to ensure that security takes her directly off the plane, our crew had to restrain her for a bit and we saw what resulted after that happened.”
Addressing growing concerns about disruptive passenger behavior, the Ibom Air official emphasized that no airline operates with intentions to humiliate travelers. Essienette urged authorities to focus on preventive measures rather than punitive actions after such incidents occur.