Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has accused immigration officials of preventing her from travelling abroad after allegedly withholding her passport at the airport.
The lawmaker raised the alarm in a live Facebook broadcast on Tuesday morning, claiming the officials offered no legal justification for their actions.
“Have I committed any offence? Why are you withholding my passport?” she asked the officials during the livestream.
Akpoti-Uduaghan said the incident occurred shortly after she marked her second year in office.
“Having completed my second-year celebration, I decided to take a week off. I’m at the airport, and my passport has been withheld again,” she said.
The senator recalled a previous incident in which her passport was allegedly seized on the instruction of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
“The last time this happened, the officer said Senator Akpabio instructed them to stop me from travelling, claiming that each time I travel, I smear the country’s image through international interviews,” she alleged.
Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted there was no legal order restricting her travel, adding that President Bola Tinubu had earlier directed the Attorney-General of the Federation to withdraw all politically motivated cases against her.
“This president actually spoke with Godswill Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he agreed they were politically motivated. So, there’s no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport,” she said.
“No right to withhold passport”
Visibly upset during the confrontation, the senator threatened legal action against the immigration officials.
“You have no right to withhold my passport or deny me exit from my country. I have committed no offence, and this must stop,” she declared.
“I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me. You can’t keep doing this every time.”
She questioned why her passport had been repeatedly seized despite her compliance with all ongoing legal proceedings.
“There is no court order against me. I have not missed any of my court appearances. I am not a flight risk. So why am I being treated like a criminal?”
Moments later, one of the officers returned her passport.
“Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes you just have to be a rebel to get things right. If I hadn’t gone public, would you have given me my passport?” she said, as immigration officers could be heard apologising in the background.
Immigration Service Responds
In a reaction, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) denied seizing the senator’s passport.
NIS spokesperson Akinsola Akinlabi told Channels Television that Akpoti-Uduaghan only underwent routine immigration checks and was later cleared to travel.
“NIS didn’t seize the distinguished senator’s passport. She went through routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel,” Akinlabi explained.
He added that the officers were simply performing their statutory duties.
“Officers may temporarily take your passport for verification, but that doesn’t amount to seizure. She has since been cleared and allowed to travel. Perhaps while waiting for the process to be completed, she assumed she was being stopped,” he said.
Akinlabi noted that the senator’s video was made during the routine check and not after clearance.
“The passport was never seized,” he insisted.
When asked whether the senator resisted handing over her passport for inspection, Akinlabi said he could not confirm that.
“The officers are authorised to collect passports for verification and must return them once done — which they did,” he added.
Ongoing legal battles
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s outburst comes amid ongoing legal and political challenges.
In October, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) dismissed her claim that the charges against her were an abuse of court process, maintaining that they stemmed from “comprehensive and conclusive investigations.”
The senator is currently facing separate cases of alleged criminal defamation and cybercrime before the FCT High Court and the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Mohammed Umar has adjourned the cybercrime trial to 24 November. The case, filed by the Director of Public Prosecution, Mohammed Abubakar, involves six counts.
Akpoti-Uduaghan recently returned to plenary after a six-month suspension imposed by the Senate for alleged misconduct — a decision that sparked widespread public criticism. Her office, which was sealed during the suspension, was reopened on 23 September, marking her full reinstatement to legislative duties.
