Updated on: Aug 07, 2025 09:02 pm IST
In videos of the incident that surfaced on social media, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal aka KWAM 1 was seen standing in front of the plane.
King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, a popular Nigerian singer was put on no-fly by the authorities in the country after he blocked a plane on the tarmac from taking off because he was denied boarding.
In videos of the incident that surfaced on social media, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal aka KWAM 1 was seen standing in front of the plane, with airport officials trying to move him from there.
Nigeria’s aviation minister Festus Keyamo said in a statement on Thursday that the celebrated fuji singer, stood on the tarmac to “block the aircraft from taxiing” following an altercation with airport officials.
Keyamo also shared on social media a video of the incident. The singer had to crouch to avoid being hit by the wings of the aircraft.
The singer was scheduled to travel on a ValueJet flight from Nigeria’s capital Abuja to Lagos on Tuesday.
During boarding, he was informed by airport security that he could not take his flask into the plane, an AFP news agency report quoted as saying Obiageli Orah, spokeswoman for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
“The passenger allegedly refused and spilled the contents of the flask on the officer, which turned out to be alcohol,” Orah said.
The captain and the pilot have had their licences suspended, Keyamo said.
“I have received reports from all the relevant Aviation agencies regarding the altercation between the staff and crew of ValueJet and Kwam 1 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. I have also received video footages of the incident,” Keyamo said in the post on X.
“From all the details so far received, my preliminary impression is that it was obviously a case of temporary loss of sanity and control on both sides which could have led to serious fatalities,” he added.
The singer is popular in southwest Nigeria, where his traditional fuji music — a staple among the Yoruba ethnic group — originated. KWAM 1 also performed at the presidential inaugural ball when Nigerian President Bola Tinubu was sworn in May 2023.
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