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| Kwam 1. |
The Federal Government has announced an ambassadorial role for Fuji Maestro Wasiu Ayinde, better known as KWAM 1 or K1 The Ultimate. This is in addition to the reduction of the six-month no-fly ban imposed on him to one month.
Similarly, the government has announced the restoration of the licenses of the pilot and co-pilot involved in the ValueJet airline incident after a one-month suspension.
In a statement this Thursday morning, August 13, 2025, Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo announced that the move, along with the pardoning of Ibom Air jailed passenger Comfort Emmanson, followed critical consultations with stakeholders in the aviation sector.
Keyamo wrote: “In the case of KWAM 1, the NCAA is to reduce his flight ban to a one-month period”.
“In the case of Captain Oluranti Ogoyi, and the co-pilot, First Officer Ivan Oloba of VALUEJET, the NCAA is to restore their licenses after the same period of one-month ban after undergoing some mandatory professional re-appraisal,” the minister’s statement read in part. “The details will be announced by the NCAA.”
On August 5, 2025, the singer attempted to stop a ValueJet aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, from moving.
The move attracted backlash from Nigerians, following which the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) placed an indefinite no-fly ban on KWAM 1.
Immediately after the incident, the NCAA wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, seeking a “comprehensive criminal investigation and the initiation of appropriate prosecution” against the singer, an ally of President Bola Tinubu.
The singer later apologised for the incident, but Keyamo on Thursday announced that the criminal complaints lodged against KWAM 1 have been withdrawn and he will be named as an airport security protocol ambassador.
“FAAN will also work with the music star with a view to engaging him as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol going forward,” the minister wrote.
“Having publicly demonstrated penitence, the NCAA is also to withdraw its criminal complaints against KWAM 1, earlier lodged with the Police,” he added.
Emmanson’s Case Withdrawn
The development came barely a day after an Ibom Air passenger, Comfort Emmanson, was involved in an altercation with cabin crew members en route to Lagos from Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
Emmanson was placed on a lifetime no-fly ban list, remanded in custody, and also charged to court for assault.
That sparked a wave of backlash from Nigerians, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), prominent people, and lawyers who accused aviation authorities of bias, citing the handling of KWAM 1’s case, which they argued was a more severe incident.
However, the aviation minister has ordered the withdrawal of the case following deliberations, “including appeals made by well-meaning individuals and remorse shown by the actors”.
“Subsequent to the withdrawal of the complaint by the Complainant, the CP of Airport Command and the Police Prosecutor will immediately take the remaining steps to facilitate her release from Kirikiri Prisons within this week,” the former Minister of State for the Niger Delta said.
“I have also conferred with the leadership of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and have appealed to them to lift the lifetime flying ban imposed on her, to which they agreed. The details of the resolution will be made public by the AON subsequently.”
Keyamo ordered all relevant aviation agencies, in collaboration with other complementary agencies outside aviation, “to IMMEDIATELY begin a retreat NEXT WEEK to properly retrain and prepare our Aviation security personnel on how to deal with errant and disruptive passengers and how to de-escalate potentially explosive situations”. (Adapted from News Express).
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