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Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of orchestrating the seizure of her international passport in an attempt to prevent her from leaving Nigeria.
In a Facebook Live video broadcast directly from the airport terminal, Akpoti-Uduaghan appeared visibly frustrated as she confronted immigration officers who, she claims, had withheld her passport for over 20 minutes.
“Is Godswill Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries? The Senate President instructed the Comptroller-General of Customs to deny me exit and withhold my passport. This is wrong,” she said.
She alleged that this was not the first time such an incident had occurred, explaining that previously, influential intervention was required to secure the release of her travel documents.
“The last time this happened, he said every time I travel out, I smear the country’s image by granting interviews. Tell them to release my passport,” she added.
In the background of the live video, immigration officers could be heard apologizing. One said, “We are sorry, ma,” to which Akpoti-Uduaghan responded sharply:
“Do not tell me sorry, let me have my passport.”
She insisted that there was no legal justification for the seizure.
“There was no order. Yes, I know I have two Federal Government cases against me—cases the President instructed the Attorney-General to withdraw. There is no reason why my passport should be withheld. I have attended all court appearances. I am not a flight risk, nor a threat to my country. So why am I being treated like a criminal?”
Akpoti-Uduaghan further claimed that President Bola Tinubu had personally directed Akpabio to ensure that all politically motivated cases against her were terminated.
Eventually, one of the immigration officers returned her passport. Still visibly shaken, she remarked:
“Sometimes I think you just have to be a rebel to get things right. Then, you keep asking Nigerians to be good citizens. If I had not gone public, would you have given me back my passport?”
The incident has sparked renewed concerns about political interference in the operations of Nigeria’s immigration and customs authorities.
