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The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has denied the allegation of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, that its officers withheld her passport at the airport.
The immigration spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, told Channels Television on Tuesday, shortly after the Kogi senator alleged an attempt to block her from travelling, that the incident was part of routine immigration procedures.
“NIS didn’t seize the distinguished senator’s passport, but rather she went through routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel,” the NIS spokesperson said.
Speaking further, Akinlabi clarified that officers were only performing their statutory duties.
“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 said.
The immigration spokesperson noted that the Kogi senator made her video during the routine process but did not post an update after being cleared to fly.
“She has travelled since then. The video was made while she was going through the checks, not after. The passport was never seized,” Akinlabi said.
When asked if Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan resisted handing over her passport for inspection, Akinlabi said he could not confirm that.
“I don’t know about that,” he replied. “But the officers conducting the checks are authorised to collect passports for verification and must return them once done, which they did.”
Allegation
Earlier, Senator Natasha alleged that immigration officials at the airport prevented her from travelling abroad.
The lawmaker raised the alarm during a live broadcast on her Facebook page on Tuesday morning, accusing officials of withholding her passport without legal justification.
“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 to the officials during the livestream.
“This is wrong. There was no order. Yes, I know I have two federal government cases against me, of which the president of Nigeria instructed the AGF to cancel the cases, to withdraw the cases.
Visibly upset at the scene, the senator further threatened legal action against the immigration, stating, “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. You are taking the law into your hands. There is no court order. I have not missed any of my court appearances. I have attended all my court sessions. I am not a flight risk. I am not a risk to my country. So why are you treating me like a criminal?” she said.
Minutes after the confrontation, one of the officers eventually returned her passport.
“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?” the senator asked.
Immigration officials could be heard apologising in the background and attempting to calm her down during the livestream.
