The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has denied reports that it seized the passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central in the National Assembly.
Speaking to Channels Television on Tuesday, NIS spokesperson Akinsola Akinlabi clarified that the lawmaker was only subjected to routine immigration checks and was not prevented from travelling.
“NIS didn’t seize the distinguished senator’s passport. She went through routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel,” Akinlabi said.
He explained that immigration officers were carrying out their statutory duties, and temporarily holding a traveller’s passport for verification purposes should not be misconstrued as seizure.
“The NIS officers needed to conduct their checks. They may take your passport to do so, but that doesn’t mean it was seized as alleged,” he added.
According to Akinlabi, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was later cleared and permitted to board her flight. He also noted that while waiting for the verification process to be completed, the senator may have assumed she was being deliberately stopped from travelling.
“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 stated.
The spokesperson further disclosed that the senator made a Facebook live video during the incident but failed to update her followers after she was cleared to proceed with her journey.
Earlier, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had alleged in a live broadcast that immigration officers withheld her passport at the airport and stopped her from travelling abroad. In the video, she accused the officers of harassment and claimed there was no court order restricting her movement.
Moments later, one of the officers reportedly returned her passport, allowing her to continue her trip.
The senator also alleged that the supposed seizure was carried out on the instruction of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, an accusation that the NIS did not directly address in its official statement.
This latest incident mirrors a similar episode in July, when the Kogi lawmaker was briefly stopped at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, before being cleared to travel.
