Natasha Akpoti‑Uduaghan (Senator, PDP – Kogi Central) has alleged that her international passport was withheld by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (Abuja), preventing her from travelling abroad.
She, however, got her passport back and made her trip
In a live social-media broadcast on Tuesday morning, the lawmaker questioned immigration officers over the alleged confiscation and accused the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate of orchestrating the action.
She said: “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.”
She further claimed that she was told by an officer that the Senate President directed the hold because she, “each time I go abroad … spoil the image of the country” by giving interviews to foreign media.
According to the reports, the incident occurred shortly after the senator marked her second year in office and had planned to take a week off.
She insisted there was no court order restricting her travel and no offence alleged against her, calling the action “an unlawful restriction of my movement and a gross violation of my fundamental rights.”
Minutes after the confrontation in the video, one of the immigration officers returned her passport.
In response, the Nigeria Immigration Service denied that it seized her passport. The agency’s spokesperson, ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, said that the lawmaker underwent routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel, and that taking a passport temporarily for verification does not amount to seizure.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has had previous clashes with Godswill Akpabio and the Senate leadership. For example, in February 2025 she accused him of sexual harassment, and the Senate suspended her for six months for alleged misconduct.
The current incident adds to a pattern of alleged institutional interference in her movement and travel, as she says it is politically motivated.
It is unclear whether there is any formal written directive from the Senate or immigration service linking the passport hold to the Senate President’s office.
It is also unclear if she has officially filed a complaint against either the immigration service or the Senate leadership.
