Immigration Returns Senator Natasha’s passport

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has released the passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan after she complained publicly that officials withheld it during an airport screening on Tuesday.

In a series of videos and posts, the Kogi Central lawmaker said her travel document was seized without a court order and alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed authorities to block her from travelling.

“You have no right to withhold my passport… I have attended all my court sessions. I am not a flight risk,” she said in one clip. The senator also claimed President Bola Tinubu had previously asked that politically motivated cases against her be withdrawn. (Akpabio had not responded publicly to the allegation at the time of this report.)

Akpoti-Uduaghan said she had been delayed for about 20 minutes and referenced a prior incident in which, according to her, the document was only released after an influential intermediary intervened. “If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport?” she asked after officials returned it.

The NIS did not immediately issue a detailed statement on the circumstances of the seizure or release. There was also no indication that a valid court order existed restricting the senator’s movement. Nigerian law generally requires a court directive or clear statutory basis for any restraint on a citizen’s right to exit or enter the country.

Rights advocates say transparent, court-led procedures are essential to avoid arbitrary travel restrictions and public confrontations.