A mild drama played out on Tuesday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, when officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) briefly withheld the international passport of the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The senator, who only recently returned from a six-month suspension, was on her way out of the country for a short vacation when she was stopped by immigration officers at the departure hall.
Although no immediate explanation was offered for the action, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted on knowing the reason for the seizure and on whose authority she was being prevented from traveling.
Realising that she was about to miss her flight, the visibly upset lawmaker went live on Facebook, alleging that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was behind the incident. “Have I committed any offence? Why are you holding my passport?” she asked in the live broadcast.
She explained that she had decided to take a brief vacation following the stress of the activities marking her second year in office, only to be confronted by what she described as another episode of harassment.
According to her: “Fellow Nigerians, good morning. This is Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Having completed the celebration of my second year in office, I decided to take a week off. Here I am at the airport and my passport is being withheld again. The same thing happened the last time.
“I have committed no offence and there is no court order restricting me from traveling. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told me that the Senate President instructed them to withhold my passport and stop me from traveling, claiming that I tarnish the country’s image by granting interviews to international media.”
She further alleged that it took the intervention of an unnamed “powerful Nigerian” before her passport was released during the previous incident.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan questioned the powers of Senator Akpabio to issue directives to a government agency against her, asking rhetorically, “Is Godswill Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries?”
READ ALSO: Senator Natasha Akpoti Demands Justice for Late Ochanya Ogbaje Case
The senator also claimed that the latest action was again carried out at the instance of the Senate President, who allegedly instructed the Comptroller General of Immigration to prevent her from leaving the country.
In an emotional outburst at the airport, she told the officials that they had no legal right to seize her passport or restrict her movement, warning that she would sue the immigration service for what she described as “continuous embarrassment.”
She lamented that despite President Bola Tinubu’s reported directive to the Attorney General to withdraw politically motivated cases against her, she continued to face persecution. “I am not a flight risk and should not be treated like a criminal,” she said.
After about thirty minutes of tension and exchanges, her passport was eventually released, allowing her to continue her journey.
The senator later maintained that if she had not gone live on social media, the document might not have been returned.