In a dramatic scene at the airport on Tuesday morning, Senator
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of ordering the seizure of her international passport in an alleged bid to stop her from travelling out of the country.
In a Facebook Live video streamed directly from the airport terminal, Akpoti-Uduaghan appeared visibly upset as she confronted immigration officers who, according to her, had withheld her passport for over 20 minutes.
“Is Godswill Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries?” she asked furiously. “Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, has instructed the Comptroller-General of Customs to deny me exit, to withhold my passport. This is wrong.”
The female Senator alleged that this was not the first time such an incident had occurred. “The last time this happened, he said every time I travel out, I smear the country’s image by granting interviews. It took someone influential to call them to release my passport. Tell them to release my passport,” she said.
In the background of the live video, some immigration officers could be heard apologising. One said, “We are sorry ma,” to which Akpoti-Uduaghan retorted, “Do not tell me sorry, let me have my passport.”
She further insisted there was no legal justification for the seizure. “There was no order. Yes, I know I have two Federal Government cases against me—of which the President of Nigeria instructed the Attorney-General of the Federation to withdraw,” she said.
According to her, President Bola Tinubu had personally directed Akpabio to ensure all politically motivated cases against her were terminated. “The President actually spoke to Godswill Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he admitted they were politically witch-hunting me. So, there is no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport. You have no right to that, madam,” the Senator stated.
She continued: “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?”
Moments later, one of the male Immigration officers eventually returned the passport to her. Akpoti-Uduaghan, still visibly shaken, 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?”
As of the time of filing this report, neither the office of the Senate President nor the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) had issued any official statement regarding the incident.