IBOM AIR SAGA: DETENTION OF MS. COMFORT UNLAWFUL – NIGERIAN LAWYER
Maureen Okafor
I rarely do this on social media but face to face with real life friends. However, here is a copy of the Remand Warrant issued by the Magistrate remanding Ms. Comfort at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre today, the 11th day of August, 2025.
A cursory examination of this warrant immediately reveals glaring procedural irregularities. The Nigerian Correctional Service, whose statutory duty under Section 2 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019 includes ensuring that court warrants are valid in form, date, and signature, failed in its obligation. Rather than verify and reject a defective order, they proceeded to remand Ms. Comfort in a manner that raises serious concerns about collusion and abuse of process, especially given that this occurred within twelve (12) hours of the altercation in question.
It is no secret that corruption pervades the judicial and law enforcement systems in Nigeria, and this incident underscores the institutional disregard for justice, due process, and the rights of citizens as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (As amended).
Friends note; the facts are straightforward: following an avoidable altercation between a passenger (Ms Comfort) and the cabin crew of Ibom Air, Ms. Comfort was hurriedly charged to court and remanded. The warrant, however, absurdly states that she was remanded on the 11th day of October, 2025 and is to be produced for arraignment on the 6th day of October, 2025, an obvious CHRONOLOGICAL IMPOSSIBILITY!🙄
Some may attempt to trivialize this as a “mere clerical error.” However, in law, the dates and particulars on a Remand order are material facts. They are not harmless errors; they go to the validity of the order itself. As held in a plethora of case laws that a court process which fails to comply with statutory requirements is fundamentally defective and renders any proceedings founded on it a nullity.
We know that the Correctional Service, by law, cannot arrogate to itself the powers of a magistrate or judge to “correct” such defects. Accepting a detainee on the basis of a facially invalid warrant is tantamount to aiding unlawful detention, contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act. In my experience, there are precedents where the Service has rejected custody of individuals due to defective remand warrants, including cases where the alleged offence was grave, such as the rejection of a blind man convicted of rape until due process was followed after intervention by NAPTIP at the National Assembly.
In this case, the remand warrant was issued in error and until the error is rectified through proper judicial process, Ms. Comfort’s continued detention at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre is unlawful, arbitrary, and in breach of her constitutional right to personal liberty. The courts have consistently held, that deprivation of liberty must be strictly in accordance with a valid court order; any deviation amounts to false imprisonment.
This is not merely a procedural lapse, it is an abuse of the judicial process, a breach of statutory duty, and an affront to the rule of law.
I call on the human rights activists resident in Lagos State and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Services to intervene urgently to ensure the freedom of Ms Comfort is restored.
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