The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has denied allegations by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, that its officers seized her passport and attempted to prevent her from travelling abroad.
The immigration spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, clarified that the senator’s experience was part of routine immigration checks.
“NIS didn’t seize the distinguished senator’s passport, but rather she went through routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel,” Akinlabi explained.
He added that immigration officers were simply performing their statutory duties, which sometimes involve temporarily holding passports for verification.
“They may take your passport to do so, but that doesn’t mean it was seized as alleged. She has since been allowed to travel. Perhaps while waiting for the checks to be completed, she assumed she was being stopped from travelling,” he said.
Akinlabi further noted that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan made her video during the normal screening process but did not post an update after being cleared.
“She has travelled since then. The video was made while she was going through the checks, not after. The passport was never seized,” he added.
When asked whether the senator resisted handing over her passport for inspection, Akinlabi said he could not confirm that but maintained that officers were authorised to collect passports for verification and must return them once checks are complete — which they did.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had gone live on her Facebook page, accusing immigration officers at the airport of unlawfully withholding her passport.
“I’m at the airport, and my passport has been withheld again. Have I committed any offence? Why are you withholding my passport?” she said during the livestream.
The visibly upset senator described the act as harassment and insisted she had no pending travel restrictions or court orders against her.
“You have no right to withhold my passport or deny me exit from my country. I have committed no offence, and this must stop,” she said, threatening to sue the immigration authorities for repeated embarrassment.
She also referenced two federal cases against her, which she claimed had already been withdrawn at the instruction of the President and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Moments later, the livestream captured one of the officers returning her passport.
“Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes you just have to be a rebel to get things right,” the senator said as immigration officers were heard apologising in the background.
The NIS, however, maintained that no law was violated and that the process was a standard operational procedure applicable to all travellers.
