Passenger allegedly caught stealing N290,000 from foreigner aboard Ibom Air flight

A male passenger on an Ibom Air flight bound for Abuja from Lagos on Wednesday was accused of stealing the sum of N290,000 from the carry-on baggage of a foreigner.

A viral seven-second video reveals the suspect being escorted off the plane by a hostess as different passengers stared at and handed remarks at him.

“That’s the thief,” one voice was heard saying within the clip, whereas one other threatened to slap him.

Though neither Ibom Air nor the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued an announcement as of press time, some officers of the airline on the Lagos airport confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES.

Messages despatched by PREMIUM TIMES to Ibom Air’s spokesperson, Aniekan Essienette, haven’t been replied.

“Sure, it’s true,” an official of Ibom Air instructed PREMIUM TIMES, requesting anonymity as she will not be authorised to talk on the matter.

The way it occurred

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the incident occurred round 7:00 a.m. whereas boarding the airline’s first Lagos–Abuja flight on Wednesday.

Sources at Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport stated the foreigner raised the alarm on realising that his cash had disappeared from a bag positioned within the overhead compartment above his seat.

One other observant passenger reportedly knowledgeable the cabin crew that he noticed the suspect dealing with the foreigner’s bag shortly earlier than the grievance.

The accused was reported to have initially denied involvement earlier than a search revealed the lacking money beneath his seat.

One of many passengers, Chioma Ifeanyi-Eze, who was on the flight, recounted the episode on social media.

“We caught a thief on the aircraft in the present day. The Oyibo man stated his bag had been moved, and his N290,000 was gone. One other passenger confirmed she noticed the suspect with the bag.

They searched him, and the cash was discovered beneath his seat,” she narrated.

Ms Ifeanyi-Eze described the suspect as visibly nervous, sweating closely, including that the incident delayed the flight for about 20 minutes.

Ibom Air officers instructed PREMIUM TIMES that the suspect was handed over to airport safety after being deboarded.

Earlier Incidents

This isn’t the primary time a theft incident has been reported on the airline’s flights.

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In July 2023, a Nigerian passenger, David Ogeneochuko, was arrested in Lagos for allegedly stealing a laptop computer from one other passenger’s bag on an Ibom Air flight QI300 to Abuja.

Airline officers stated they’ve seen that some people intentionally buy flight tickets with the intention of stealing from different passengers.

“That’s the reason we at all times advise passengers to put their baggage in overhead lockers near them and monitor motion round their belongings,” an Ibom Air official stated.