Popular comedian Bovi Ugboma has come out to react to the viral Ibom Air clip in which a female passenger’s shirt was torn off during an altercation with a cabin crew member. He recently revealed that the incident stresses the need for mental health awareness.
The dispute, which happened on a flight from Uyo to Lagos, involved a passenger later identified as Comfort Emmanson, and the trouble reportedly started when she refused to follow in-flight safety instructions, including switching off her mobile phone during landing.
Eyewitnesses and footage shared online have since confirmed that Comfort slapped and assaulted the purser, pulled off her wig and stepped on her.
Airport security, including Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) officials, eventually intervened and handed over to the police.
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Reacting via his Instagram Story, Bovi disclosed that Nigerians must realize that mental illness is not only when someone is “mad and trekking and eating from a bin.”
“Some people are really stressed. Some are used to abusive patterns of distressing like cussing and fighting. Some are triggered by chronic childhood trauma. Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a thing,” he wrote.
Hailing the airport staff and airline hostess for how they handled that passenger, he maintained that the woman needs to be taken to the hospital.
Bovi concluded by saying that Comfort Emmanson must be made to face the law for her improper conduct.
“Kudos to the airport staff and airline hostess for the way they handled that passenger. But that girl needs to be taken to a hospital. That looked like a manic episode. Yes, she should face the law. But she also needs mental treatment. Most of us do,” he added.
