•Mayaki calls for his prosecution
An unidentified man was Friday, evacuated from an Abuja to Lagos Ibom Air flight for protesting against the inauguration of president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on May 29.
According to reports, six airport security officers evacuated him after holding up the aircraft for more than an hour.
Confirming the incident, yesterday, Ibom Air, in a statement, titled, ‘Unruly Passenger’, said: “We wish to inform the public about an incident on our 6 pm flight from Abuja to Lagos on Friday, 31 March 2023.
“A passenger stood up and began addressing other passengers in a manner considered inappropriate and unruly, as he was making other passengers nervous.
“Our crew deemed his continuous unruly behavior unsafe and called on airport security to help with the situation. Upon his refusal to stop or disembark peacefully, the security operatives were left with no choice but to forcefully disembark the passenger as a last option.
“We are aware that several videos and reports of this incident are circulating on social media and wish to provide the right perspective.”
Reacting to the incident, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prince John Mayaki, yesterday, called for the man’s prosecution.
Mayaki, who made this call in a statement made available to Sunday Vanguard in Abuja, described it as a disturbing occurrence, urging security agencies to intensify their response to such threats by apprehending and legally charging anyone committed to subverting the country’s democracy and sparking off violent conflict to prevent the peaceful transition of power.
He said: “This is what you get when sore losers are given a free rein to radicalise their naive and exuberant supporters with irresponsible comments on national television, as well as other media outlets, which undermine the outcome of the electoral contest and boldly call for the cancellation of the scheduled swearing-in.
“We are now treading dangerous waters in this country, such that Peter Obi’s errant mob, who account for a tiny minority and who credibly lost the February contest, are refusing to accept the outcome, choosing instead to burn down the country and hold the majority to ransom.
“For days since the conclusion of the election, these individuals and their foreign backers have held meetings where they openly planned subversive and violent actions, including the blocking of major highways and grounding of international airports, all of which are protected assets due to their national importance and what they symbolise.
“Even the Vice Presidential candidate of the party who ought to sue for calm and insist on the legal course of action, which is the filing of the petition at the Tribunal, went on television to stir and incite, denying the outcome of the polls as announced by INEC, and announcing his own result.
“No action was brought against him by those with the responsibility to do so and the media station that aired his dangerous lies without the necessary check was merely slapped on the wrist with a fine I’m sure they paid the following day.”
Vanguard