Immigration withholds, releases Natasha Akpoti’s passport at Abuja airport

A brief confrontation occurred on Tuesday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after immigration officials held on to the passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for what appeared to be an unusually long time.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, later alleged in a live Facebook broadcast that airport officials acted on the orders of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The Cable reported that she claimed she was prevented from boarding her flight despite having no legal restrictions on her movement.

“My passport has been withheld again,” she said, recalling a similar incident. “I have committed no offence and there is no court order stopping me.”

Visibly upset in the video, she described the situation as an “embarrassment” and demanded the immediate release of her travel document.

According to the senator, an officer told her that Akpabio directed security personnel to seize her passport whenever she attempts to travel, allegedly accusing her of “smearing the country’s image” by granting interviews to international media.

She described the alleged directive as an “abuse of power”, accusing the Senate president of crossing constitutional lines and infringing on her rights.

“You have no right to withhold my passport or stop me from travelling in and out of my own country,” she said. “This is wrong. There is no such order.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan also referenced two cases she said were “politically motivated” and had already been ordered withdrawn by the president, insisting there was “no justification for the continued harassment”.

“I have attended every court session. I am not a risk to my country,” she said. “Why treat me like a criminal?”

She vowed to pursue legal action over what she described as repeated “acts of humiliation” by airport authorities.

The passport was later returned to her during the live video by an immigration officer.

Efforts to reach Jackson Udom, spokesperson to the Senate president, were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report; calls and messages to his phone and WhatsApp were not immediately returned.