Immigration Have Seized My Passport at Airport – Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

The lawmaker representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has alleged that Nigerian immigration officers confiscated her passport at an airport, preventing her from travelling abroad.

Recall that the lawmaker celebrated her second anniversary in the Senate by commissioning projects in Kogi Central.

Akpoti-Uduaghan went live on Instagram at the airport, questioning officials about the alleged seizure.

In a video obtained on Tuesday, she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of ordering the confiscation, describing the action as “an unlawful restriction of my movement and a gross violation of my fundamental rights.”

“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.

She continued, “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.”

READ ALSO: Fear of Persecution Made Senators Silent During My Suspension, Natasha Claims

Natasha added that on the previous occasion, her passport was only released after the intervention of “a certain influential person.”

She also claimed, “Godswill Akpabio has instructed the Comptroller General of Customs to withhold my passport. This is wrong.”

The senator further claimed that President Bola Tinubu had directed the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, “to withdraw all cases in the court filed by the Federal Government against me.”

However, Immigration officials have released her passport.

Natasha had previously clashed with Akpabio in February over seat reallocation in the Senate, a dispute that led to her six-month suspension effective March 6, 2025.

She resumed her duties on September 24, 2025.