By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has released the passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, after a public outcry over what she described as an unlawful and politically motivated seizure of her travel document at a Nigerian airport.
According to a report by Sahara Reporters, the lawmaker was stopped by immigration officers on Tuesday morning, who withheld her passport without any official explanation.
Visibly angered by the development, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan went live on social media to protest the action, accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of ordering the seizure.
She said: “I have committed no offence and there is no order from the court to withhold my passport and deny me travelling. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told us that the Senate President, Godswin Akpabio instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he said each time I travel out of the country, I spoil the country’s image by granting interviews out in international media.
“Please, can you tell them to release my passport and this embarrassment should stop? You have no right to withhold my passport.
“You have no right to deny me exit and entrance into my country. I have not committed any offence and this must stop. No, this must stop.
“As a matter of fact, I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me. No, don’t tell me sorry. Can I please have my passport? You can’t keep doing this to me all the time.”
The senator, who recently marked her second year in office, described the ordeal as part of a continuous pattern of harassment.
She recalled that her passport had previously been seized under similar circumstances and was only released after intervention from an influential figure.
“I’ve been standing here for the past 20 minutes. Why are you doing this? What have I committed? The last time it had to take someone influential to call you to release my passport. That was what allowed me travel.
“Now again, you’re withholding my passport while I’m making calls. Is Godswin Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries? Godswin Akpabio, the Senate President, has instructed the Comptroller General of Customs to deny me exit, to withhold my passport. This is wrong.
“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.
“This president, Bola Tinubu, actually spoke with Godwin Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he admitted, he agreed that they were politically witch-hunting cases. So there is no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport.
“There is no reason why. You have no right to do that, madam. You have no right. You are taking laws 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? Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes I think you just have to be a rebel to get things right. Then you keep asking Nigerians to be good citizens.”
Following her viral protest, Sahara Reporters noted that the NIS eventually bowed to public pressure and released the passport.
“If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport?” she added after the document was returned.
The incident has continued to spark widespread debate over the alleged misuse of authority and the recurring cases of politically motivated intimidation against opposition lawmakers in Nigeria.