Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan has raised alarm over what she described as continuous harassment by airport officials after her passport was withheld for the second time in recent months.
In a video posted online, the lawmaker expressed frustration at being stopped from travelling, alleging that the directive came from Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
“Have I committed any offence? Why are you withholding my passport?” she asked in the video. “I decided to take a week off. So, I’m at the airport here and my passport has been withheld again. The same thing happened last time where my passport was seized.”
The senator said she had not violated any law and that there was no court order restricting her from travelling.
“I have committed no offence and there is no order from the court to withhold my passport and deny me travelling,” she stated. “The last time this happened, the person, officer in charge told us that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he said each time I travel out of the country, I smear the country’s image by granting interviews out in international media.”
Senator Akpoti Uduaghan demanded the immediate release of her passport, accusing the authorities of abuse of power.
“You have no right to withhold my passport,” she said. “You have no right to deny me exit and entrance into my country. I have not committed any offence and this must stop.”
Visibly angered by the repeated incident, the senator hinted at taking legal action over what she described as “continuous embarrassment.”
“As a matter of fact, I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me,” she declared.
She further alleged that her previous release at the airport only came after an influential person intervened.
“The last time it had to take someone influential to call you to release my passport. That was what allowed me travel,” she recalled.
The senator also claimed that President Bola Tinubu had earlier instructed the Attorney-General to withdraw two federal cases filed against her.
“The President, Bola Tinubu, actually spoke with Godswill Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he admitted, he agreed that they were politically withholding cases,” she said. “So there is no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport.”
Akpoti Uduaghan insisted that she had attended all her court appearances and was not a flight risk.
“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,” she said.
The senator questioned the fairness of her treatment and vowed to continue speaking out.
“Why are you treating me like a criminal? Can I have my passport, please? Sometimes I think you just have to be a rebel to get things right. Then you keep asking Nigerians to be good citizens. If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport?” she added.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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