A deaf lawyer and disability rights advocate, Barrister Catherine Ede, has accused officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, of discrimination and inhumane treatment after she was allegedly prevented from boarding an Air Peace flight despite possessing a valid boarding pass.
The incident, which occurred on Sunday, has triggered outrage among disability rights groups, with the Enugu State chapter of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) and other advocates demanding an investigation and sanctions against those involved.
According to Ede, she arrived at the airport to board an 8:30 a.m. Air Peace flight from Enugu to Abuja but was denied access to the aircraft after airport personnel questioned the authenticity of her hearing impairment.
She alleged that an airport official openly accused her of pretending to be deaf and refused to communicate with her despite being aware of her disability.
“I just missed my Air Peace, 8:30 a.m. Enugu to Abuja flight at the Enugu Airport. The whole stigma thing from the airport staff stinks. One even told me to my face in the most disdainful way that I’m not deaf, that I’m faking it. That, in particular, broke me,” she said.
The lawyer further alleged that the official seized her boarding pass and processed it as though she had boarded the flight.
“He refused to communicate with me and ordered the pilot to leave. He seized my boarding pass and processed it as if I had boarded, which I later discovered after the flight had left,” she claimed.
Ede said the experience left her emotionally devastated, noting that many persons with disabilities already contend with prejudice, stigma and exclusion in their daily lives.
“If only they knew all that I’ve had to deal with daily being deaf. Saying that I was faking deafness on top of his discrimination was the meanest thing to say. It made me deeply emotional,” she added.
The lawyer said she subsequently contacted her interpreter and notified officials of the Enugu State Disability Commission for intervention.
She further alleged that the incident was not isolated, claiming that she and several other persons with disabilities had repeatedly suffered discrimination and mistreatment at the airport. According to her, fellow lawyers, disability advocates and interpreters had on previous occasions witnessed confrontations involving airport personnel over the treatment meted out to her and other disabled travellers.
Meanwhile, following the incident, the disability community in Enugu has issued a joint statement condemning what it described as the degrading treatment of the lawyer.
The statement, signed by the chapter chairman, Comrade Onyebuchi Mba, described the incident as a stark example of the discrimination routinely faced by persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the cruel ordeal Barrister Catherine Ede, a distinguished deaf lawyer and advocate, suffered at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
“To stand before a woman of intellect, elegance and proven capacity and have the audacity to tell her to her face, ‘You are faking deafness,’ is not ignorance. It is wickedness. It is man’s inhumanity to man,” the statement read.
The disability groups questioned how airport officials could dismiss the condition of a lawyer and prominent advocate for persons with disabilities while allegedly denying her access to a scheduled flight.
“How can FAAN staff seize her boarding pass, order the pilot to leave and mock her pain while she stood alone, vulnerable and hurting?” the statement asked.
The groups said the incident reflected broader societal attitudes towards persons with disabilities and called on the Federal Government to ensure full implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
“This is the hellish reality of African society, and Nigeria in particular, for persons with disabilities. A society where people with disabilities must fight to be believed before they can even fight to board a flight,” the statement added.
JONAPWD urged the government to strengthen the enforcement of disability rights laws, train FAAN, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and airline personnel on disability inclusion, and establish proper accessibility protocols at airports across the country.
“If this can happen to Barrister Catherine in public at an international airport, then no person with disability is safe in Nigeria,” the group stated.
The disability community also expressed solidarity with Ede and encouraged her to continue advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities despite the ordeal.
The groups further called for an independent investigation into the incident and the implementation of measures to prevent similar occurrences at Nigerian airports.
