Aviation
How A Fellow Passenger’s Counsel Saved Me From Being Roped-Into Drugs By A Seatmate – Flight Passenger
When next you find yourself at the Airport or travelling by air, be ready to paddle your canoe by yourself, and never get too close to ‘spontaneous friendship offers’.
This might save you from trouble, if the account of an international air passenger, Kofi Badu, is anything to go by.
According to Badu in a video making the rounds on social media platforms, he boarded a flight to Dubai and found a matronly looking lady, seemingly descent and well educated as seatmate.
Oblivious of the lady’s evil intentions, Badu allowed himself to be engaged in chit-chat with her al through the journey, only for her to feign ill as the flight was about landing in Dubai just to draw empathy from and implicate Badu.
He was saved by an observant co-passenger who offered him tips and helped him witness to the Dubai Police that he was not the strange lady’s son.
Badu said, “There was this day, an old lady comes in and sits next to me inside the plane she asked me to help her put her bag in the overhead luggage compartment… she strikes up a conversation she was very pleasant and well-spoken so we chatted all through the flight to Dubai.”
The lady’s theatricals took a new turn, and she feigned sick, as the flight was about to land, Badu stated.
According to Badu, “Suddenly when the pilot announced that we were now proceeding to begin our descent into DXP ‘my good friend’ developed stomach pains.
“Me with my good heart I pressed the steward’s button… and this lady suddenly began to address me as ‘my son’,” Badu stated.
That was when a fellow passenger’s wise counsel came in handy. “The same gentleman who helped put up her luggage in the overhead compartment removed her luggage but as he removed the luggage, he advised me to distance myself from this lady and make it clear to the cabin crew that we were not travelling together. This man was a God-sent.”
The elderly woman’s evil intentions came to the fore when the plane landed. She made deliberate efforts to implicate Badu, by claiming to be his mother and oblivious of the contents of her luggage, which she claimed was packed by ‘her son, Badu’.
She was carrying drugs which Badu was ignorant of!
“As we waited for our luggage to come through I didn’t hear this commotion; my new friend was running, trying to escape the cabin crew, luckily the airport police were faster than her.
They got hold of her and brought her back in handcuffs and this lady starts calling out me ‘my son’ ‘my son’ ‘how could you do this to me?’ that’s when it occurred to me that she was carrying drugs and she was trying to implicate me,” Badu revealed.
His saving grace was the fellow passenger’s testimony and a lack of physical evidence linking him to the drug-carrying old lady.
He explained it thus, “Luckily for me, the gentleman who had helped her with her luggage came forward and told the airport police that me and her had just met on the plane.”
The experience has changed Badu from the chatty guy to a grim looking one, each time he found himself at the Airport. And he would advise anybody to do the same.
“I was let go with advice never ever to touch anyone’s luggage either on a flight or at the airport so from that day I don’t care how much luggage you have he will deal with it yourself, I will not even offer you a trolley to put your luggage on your luggage your problem that is my new policy and if you can’t reach the overhead compartment and I am the nearest person please call the cabin crew because all I’ll do is give you a blank stare and then look away. This is a simple advice I’m just saying it please think about it,” Badu stated.
In a bold step to strengthen Akwa Ibom’s position in Nigeria’s aviation industry, Governor Umo Eno announced the addition of two new Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft to the fleet of the state-owned airline, Ibom Air, on Friday.
The two aircraft, registered as 5N-CED and 5N-CEE, mark a milestone in the state’s commitment to strategic investment, with the governor stressing that the acquisitions were fully funded by state resources without loans from financial institutions.
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At a welcoming ceremony attended by local officials and residents, Governor Eno emphasized his administration’s mission to drive revenue-generating ventures for Akwa Ibom rather than relying on debt.
He called the move a step toward breaking the cycle of government investments that only serve to pay off loans, vowing that the state’s funds would go towards projects that bring returns to the people.
The governor challenged Ibom Air to turn a profit by 2025, stating that the airline’s management should ensure routes in and out of Uyo remain dependable to prioritize the needs of Akwa Ibom travelers.
“As long as I remain governor, we will continue to use state funds for the benefit of all, not for private gain,” he said, noting that his administration aims to ensure that public investments deliver real value to the state.
Governor Eno also provided updates on several ambitious state projects, including an 18-story commercial complex underway in Lagos and an upcoming 4-star hotel in Abuja, both designed to generate revenue for Akwa Ibom.
Plans for an international market in Ikot Ekpene and the phased opening of a new terminal at the Victor Attah International Airport were also announced, with the airport terminal set for partial operation by December and full activation in early 2025.
Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Udeme Otong, commended Eno’s financial management, highlighting that the administration has avoided seeking loans over the past 18 months despite launching significant development projects.
Ibom Air’s Chairman, Pastor Imoabasi Jacob, expressed appreciation for the state’s investment in the airline, which has seen its fleet grow to nine aircraft.
Jacob credited the governor’s support with enabling Ibom Air to boost flight capacity, meeting demand on popular routes such as Uyo-Lagos-Abuja.
Captain Mfon Udom, CEO of Ibom Air, stated that the expanded fleet will improve efficiency and allow the airline to scale up its operations in time for the Christmas travel season.
Udom also noted that the airline anticipates the delivery of nine additional Airbus planes, which will further strengthen Ibom Air’s market presence.
Traditional leaders, including HRM Edidem Ita Edet Okokon III of Okobo Local Government Area, lauded the governor’s leadership, pledging continued support from the traditional institutions.
Anie Essienette, Group Manager for Marketing and Communications at Ibom Air, noted that demand for the airline’s services has surged nationwide, with the new CRJ900 aircraft helping meet this increasing need while the airline awaits further fleet expansion.
Nigeria’s Minister for Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo is of the view that there’s no cause for alarm over the approval of a private airstrip for a religious organisation, which attracted the attention of the House of Representatives.
He took to his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X, on Friday morning to shed light on the subject, and explained that it could be a great source of revenue for Federal Government.
Keyamo asserted that the issue was raised by an honourable member at plenary, out of ignorance, but was “unanimously referred to the Aviation Committee to look into.”
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Keyamo expressed confidence that by the time his Ministry was done enlightening them, “they will be satisfied”.
He added that “the privates air strip owners pay the Federal Government handsomely for these services.”
Keyamo wrote, “I think this is not correct. The House of Reps. as a body did not call on the Minister to revoke the license of any private airstrip.
“I think what happened is that someone moved a motion in that regard and it was unanimously referred to the Aviation Committee to look into it.
“Whilst the intention of the Hon. Member who moved it is very patriotic, it was based on a complete lack of knowledge of the aviation sector.
“By the time we explain to them how private air strips work and the processes they undergo by our agencies before the final approval, they will be satisfied.
“The responsibility of the owners of private air strips is just to build the runway and terminal building. But after they build the control tower in particular, it is completely handed over to the Federal Government through NAMA (Nigerian Airspace Management Agency) which is in complete control of the entire airspace in Nigeria. An MOU is usually signed with NAMA in this regard before the airstrip is approved for operations.
“It is NAMA that provides the Air Traffic Controllers and Engineers in ALL AIRPORTS and AIRSTRIPS IN NIGERIA. And the privates air strip owners pay the Federal Government handsomely for these services.
“No object flies into Nigeria without the prior clearance by NAMA and without filing a clear flight plan, eg, where it is taking off from and where it intends to land.
“And I have recently directed that all aircraft coming into the country MUST first land at our international airports where they would be properly processed and checked before they make their local flights into whatever airport or airstrip they intend to go. So, it is COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY impossible for any private airstrip owner to just jump on an aircraft and fly in and out of the country through that facility. The Federal Government does not permit that. You will not be cleared for take off or landing without prior request and authorisation.
“I thank the Member for his patriotism, but I wish he contacted us first to explain to him before rushing to move such a motion.
“I attach herewith for public consumption the NAMA Act that gives exclusive control of the Nigerian airspace to the Federal Government through NAMA.”
The NNPC Ltd has clarified that beyond the three bodies found in the ill-fated helicopter operated by East Winds Aviation that crashed on Thursday in Port Harcourt, no other bodies have been recovered.
This was contained in a statement in Abuja on Sunday by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye.
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“The Company further notes that intensified search and rescue operations for the remaining bodies along with relevant authorities is still ongoing.
“Once again, our hearts and prayers are with family members of this unfortunate incident,” the statement added.
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