Former Minister of Education, Dr Obi Ezekwesili has stated that the recent contrasting treatment of two air passengers by aviation authorities is a reflection of the deep inequalities and institutional decay in Nigeria.

In a statement on X on Wednesday, Ezekwesili said the incidents — one involving a politically connected man who obstructed a taxiing aircraft, and the other involving a young woman removed from a plane — expose the “brazen double standards” in law enforcement.

She said while the man received a “soft slap-on-the-wrist” flight ban despite his actions being caught on video, the woman was “stripped naked, dragged off the plane, arrested, charged, remanded, and sent to Kirikiri prison” within days.

Her words: “This brazen double standard in law enforcement is not just unjust — it is a direct assault on the rule of law.

“It is yet another example of the contemptuous normalization of impunity by Nigeria’s political class.”

Ezekwesili described the young woman’s ordeal as symbolic of the daily indignities suffered by millions of Nigerians, many of whom, she said, have been so broken by the system that they defend their oppressors.

She called for the woman’s “immediate release” and demanded that aviation regulators apply the same standards to both the powerful and the powerless.

“No preferential treatment. No double standards. The answer lies in our hands, dear 99% of Nigerians.

“A day shall come when Nigerians collectively rise in one accord to confront the 1%,” she added.