The incident, which unfolded mid-flight, escalated after the passenger allegedly resisted instructions to disembark. According to the airline’s Group Manager for Marketing and Communications, Aniekan Essienette, the situation required crew members to restrain her until security personnel arrived. “She had tried to come out earlier, but she was restrained because of some activities that had happened behind the scenes,” Essienette explained. “Eventually, the pilot in command had to call security, and our crew ensured she was taken directly off the plane.”
While confirming that the recording was made onboard an Ibom Air aircraft, Essienette stressed that many people present at the time were not employees of the airline. “As much as the video was taken on board, we had several other people who were not Ibom Air employees around the vicinity. So, anyone could have taken that video,” she said in an interview with TVC News. “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.”
The controversy prompted Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, to direct that any staff member found to have leaked the footage should face sanctions. Keyamo acknowledged that filming disruptive incidents for evidence in legal proceedings was acceptable but called the public release of content involving indecent exposure “totally unacceptable.”
Addressing broader concerns, Essienette noted that airlines have no interest in humiliating passengers and urged authorities to focus on measures to prevent similar disruptive incidents in the future. “No airline would go about their business to humiliate a passenger,” she said, adding that the safety and dignity of all passengers remain a priority for Ibom Air.