By Victor Itodo Abuh
THERE was a brief standoff at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja on Tuesday when officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) allegedly seized the passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP–Kogi Central), preventing her from travelling.
The incident occurred just days after the lawmaker marked her second year in the Senate and commissioned multiple constituency projects across Kogi Central Senatorial District.
In a live video streamed on her social media platforms, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was seen expressing frustration over the action and accused the authorities of acting on the instructions of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
“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, visibly angry.
She recalled experiencing a similar incident in the past, stating that immigration officials also prevented her from travelling even though no court order restricted her movement.
According to her, an officer had told her that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, ordered the action because Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly “spoils the image of the country” in interviews granted to international media during her travels.
“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 and prevent me from travelling because he claimed that each time I go abroad, I ‘spoil the image of the country’ by granting interviews to international media,” she said.
She further stated that on the previous occasion, her passport was eventually released “after the intervention of a certain influential person.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan also alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had recently directed the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to withdraw all pending cases filed against her by the Federal Government.
She confirmed that the seized passport was returned to her before the end of the live streamed video.
The latest development comes months after the senator was suspended following a clash with Akpabio during a dispute over the reallocation of seats in the Senate. She resumed legislative duties on September 24, 2025, following the expiration of the suspension.
Watch the video HERE
