Drama ensued on Tuesday at the international wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) briefly withheld the passport of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate.
In a video posted on her Facebook page, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that her passport was withheld at the immigration screening point as she prepared to board an international flight out of the country.
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In the video, the senator accused the officials of acting on the orders of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
“Have I committed any offence, why are you withholding my passport?” she asked.
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“Hello fellow Nigerians, having completed the celebration of my second year in office, I have decided to take a week off. So I’m at the airport and my passport is being withheld again.”
Describing the officials’ action as “unlawful and politically motivated,” Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan urged Nigerians to speak out against what she described as a recurring acts of harassment.
The senator went live on social media as she confronted the officials, insisting that Mr Akpabio was behind the incident.
“I have committed no offence and there is no order from the court to withhold my passport and deny me travelling. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told us that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he said each time I travel out of the country, I spoil the country’s image by granting interviews to international media.
“Please, can you tell them to release my passport and this embarrassment should stop? You have no right to withhold my passport. You have no right to deny me exit and entrance into my country. I have not committed any offence and this must stop. No, this must stop,” she said.
Background
Tuesday’s incident marks the second time in less than four months that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s travel documents have been briefly withheld by immigration officials.
In July, she was stopped at the same airport while attempting to board a flight to the United Kingdom. At the time, officials reportedly told her that her name was on a watchlist.
The incident followed her six-month suspension from the Senate on 6 March after the chamber adopted the recommendation of its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
The committee accused the senator of misconduct, adding that she defied the Senate’s sitting arrangement during a plenary session on 20 February, when she protested the reassignment of her seat — a protest that disrupted proceedings.
Following the suspension, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was stripped of her security aides, locked out of her office, and denied her salary and allowances. She completed her suspension in September, after which her office in the Senate wing was reopened by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Though she has since resumed legislative duties, the matter remains in court.
Legal concern
On Tuesday, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan threatened to sue Mr Akpabio over what she described as a “continuous pattern of harassment.”
“As a matter of fact, I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me. No, don’t tell me sorry. Can I please have my passport? You can’t keep doing this to me all the time,” she said.
She reiterated that her passport had previously been seized under similar circumstances and only released after the intervention of a prominent individual.
“I’ve been standing here for the past 20 minutes. Why are you doing this? What have I committed? The last time it had to take someone influential to call you to release my passport. That was what allowed me to travel.
“Now again, you’re withholding my passport while I’m making calls. Is Godswill Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries? Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, has instructed the Comptroller General of Customs to deny me exit, to withhold my passport. This is wrong.
“Yes, I know I have two federal government cases against me, of which the president of Nigeria instructed the AGF to cancel the cases, to withdraw the cases. This president, Bola Tinubu, actually spoke with Godswill Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he admitted that they were politically witch-hunting cases. So there is no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport.”
An NIS official was seen in the video apologising to the senator but still holding on to her passport as other officers looked on.
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“There is no reason why. You have no right to do that, madam. You have no right. You are taking laws into your hands. There is no court order. I have not missed any of my court appearances.
“I have attended all my court sessions. I am not a flight risk. I am not a risk to my country. So why are you treating me like a criminal? Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes I think you just have to be a rebel to get things right. Then you keep asking Nigerians to be good citizens.”
Moments later, an official handed back her passport.
“If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport?” she added.
NIS reaction
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, the spokesperson of the NIS, Akinsola Akinlabi, denied that any order had been issued to seize the senator’s passport.
“No such order, sir. She only underwent routine immigration checks while transiting through NAIA. After the checks were completed, she was allowed to proceed on her journey,” Mr Akinlabi said.
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