É um fato sólido em Lost que o The Man in Black tem capacidade de transformação . Eu acho que a narrativa do que aconteceu antes da morte do Sr. Eko deixa pouca dúvida de que o Homem de Preto tinha removido, alienado ou tomado o controle de Yemi para manipular Eko (from Lostpedia ):
However, Eko found that his brother's body was no longer in the plane. Eko saw Yemi once more appearing in dirty clothing and chased him into an open field. There, Eko confessed that he had not sinned to his brother. Eko stated, he did not ask for the life he was given, but it had been given nonetheless. And with it, he did the best he could. Eko also mentioned his sacrifice for Yemi when they were young.
Eko delivers his last message before his death. However, what appeared to be Yemi announced, he was not Eko's brother. Then, the person who appeared like Yemi disappeared into the jungle, with Eko in hot pursuit.
A manipulação não teria funcionado bem se o corpo ainda estivesse no avião.