Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kogi Central, has alleged that officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) seized her passport at an airport, preventing her from travelling abroad.
The lawmaker, who recently marked her second anniversary in the Senate with a series of constituency projects in Kogi Central, went live on Instagram during the incident, questioning immigration officers over the alleged confiscation.
In a video obtained on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed that the order to seize her passport came from Senate President Godswill Akpabio, describing the action as unlawful and a gross violation of her fundamental rights.
“Hello, fellow Nigerians. I’m Senator Natasha. Having completed my second year in office, I decided to take a week off. I’m at the airport here, and my passport has been withheld again,” she said.
“This same thing happened before when I was stopped from travelling even though I had committed no offence, and there was no court order restricting me. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told me that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport because he claimed I ‘spoil the image of the country’ whenever I travel abroad,” she alleged.
According to the senator, her passport was only released the last time after the intervention of an influential individual.
“Godswill Akpabio has instructed the Controller General of Customs to withhold my passport. This is wrong,” she added.
She also claimed that President Bola Tinubu had earlier directed the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, to withdraw all cases filed by the Federal Government against her.
Following the confrontation, immigration officials eventually released her passport.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had previously clashed with Akpabio in February over seat reallocation in the Senate, a dispute that led to her six-month suspension, effective March 6, 2025. She was later reinstated on September 24, 2025.
