Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Passport Seized at Airport

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, has accused immigration officers of seizing her passport at the airport, preventing her from traveling abroad. The lawmaker claimed that the action was taken at the behest of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who recently celebrated her second anniversary in the Senate, went live on social media at the airport, questioning immigration officials over the alleged confiscation of her passport. She explained that a similar incident had occurred previously, and her passport was eventually released after intervention from a “higher authority.”

The senator accused Akpabio of giving the order for her passport to be seized, describing the action as an unlawful restriction of her movement and a gross violation of her fundamental rights. She claimed that Akpabio had instructed immigration officials to prevent her from traveling abroad because she had granted interviews to international media, which he believed were detrimental to the country’s image.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s passport was later released by immigration officials. The lawmaker had claimed that President Bola Tinubu had instructed the Attorney General of the Federation to withdraw all cases filed against her.

The incident has reignited tensions between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio, who have been involved in a high-profile dispute over seat reallocation in the Senate. The dispute led to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension, which ended