Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, has alleged that officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) seized her international passport, preventing her from leaving the country.
In a live broadcast on Facebook on Tuesday, the senator accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of ordering immigration officials to stop her from travelling abroad.
In the video, a visibly distressed Natasha was seen confronting the officers at the airport counter, asking, “Have I committed any offense? Why are you holding on to my passport?”
She explained that she had planned a brief trip abroad following the celebration of her second year in office and emphasized that there was no court order restricting her movement or authorizing the confiscation of her travel documents.
According to Natasha, this was not the first time her passport had been withheld. “The last time this happened, the officer in charge said the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to hold my passport because he claimed I tarnish the country’s image whenever I travel and grant interviews to international media,” she alleged.
As of press time, neither the Nigerian Immigration Service nor the Office of the Senate President had released any official statement regarding the accusation.