A newly surfaced video captures veteran Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as Kwam 1—engaging ValueJet staff in a confrontation that led to a breach of aviation safety protocols.
The incident took place on August 5 at the domestic terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
According to reports, KWAM 1 was seen drinking from a flask while onboard a ValueJet flight. A flight attendant, suspecting the flask contained alcohol, a substance prohibited on Nigerian flights, asked the musician to surrender it.
This newspaper gathered that after Kwam 1 refused to surrender the flask, the flight crew deboarded him from the aircraft. He then moved to the front of the plane in an apparent effort to stop it from departing.
As tensions escalated, the musician allegedly spilled the contents of the flask on a member of the airline’s staff.
In the latest trending clip, Kwam 1 is seen being approached by airline officials who ask him to step away from the front of the plane, where he stood as the pilot and ground crew prepared for take-off.
Still holding his flask and speaking on a mobile phone, Kwam 1 is seen in the video pacing in front of the aircraft. Amid the roar of the engine, someone shouts, “What’s all this?” as the plane attempts to turn.
In a statement issued on August 6, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said Kwam 1 spilled alcohol on ValueJet personnel when they tried to verify the flask’s contents.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has since suspended two ValueJet pilots involved in the incident, citing a violation of aviation safety protocols.
However, in a statement released on Thursday by his media aide, Kunle Rasheed, Kwam 1 denied the allegations, describing the incident as “exaggerated” and “misleading.”
“The flask contained plain drinking water, not alcohol,” the singer stated, adding that it was handed to him at the airport lounge while he waited to board.
Kwam 1 maintained that he “adhered to protocols” and only sought to resolve the matter “peacefully,” but the situation was “unnecessarily escalated.”
WATCH VIDEO HERE: