The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has dismissed claims by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, that its officers withheld her passport at the airport.
In a statement to Channels Television on Tuesday, the immigration spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, addressed the senator’s allegations, clarifying that the incident was part of standard airport procedures.
“NIS didn’t seize the distinguished senator’s passport, but rather she went through routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel,” Akinlabi said.
He further explained that the officers were performing their official duties and that temporarily holding passports during verification was a normal practice.
“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. 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 added.
Akinlabi noted that the senator’s viral video was recorded during the checking process, but she did not share 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 clarified.
When asked if Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan initially resisted handing over her passport, Akinlabi declined to confirm, saying, “I don’t know about that. But the officers conducting the checks are authorised to collect passports for verification and must return them once done, which they did.”
Earlier, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had alleged during a live broadcast on her Facebook page that immigration officials prevented her from travelling abroad.
“Having completed my second-year celebration, I decided to take a week off. 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 insisted there was no court order restricting her movement, adding, “You have no right to withhold my passport or deny me exit from my country. I have committed no offence, and this must stop. I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me. You can’t keep doing this every time.”
Minutes later, one of the officers returned her passport, prompting her to say, “Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes you just have to be a rebel to get things right. If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport?”
Immigration officials were heard apologising in the background as they attempted to calm her down.