The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has denied claims by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan that its officers seized her passport and attempted to stop her from travelling at the airport.
Reacting to the allegation on Tuesday, NIS spokesperson Akinsola Akinlabi told Channels Television that the senator went through standard immigration procedures and was not prevented from leaving the country.
“NIS didn’t seize the distinguished senator’s passport; she went through routine immigration checks and was allowed to travel,” Akinlabi said.
He explained that officers are authorised to temporarily take passports for verification and must return them once checks are completed.
According to him, this procedure does not constitute a seizure.
“The officers needed to conduct their checks. They may take your passport to do so, but that doesn’t mean it was seized as alleged. He said.
Akinlabi suggested that the senator may have misunderstood the process while waiting for clearance.
“She has since been allowed to travel. Perhaps while waiting for the checks to be completed, she assumed she was being stopped from travelling,” he said,
He also stated that Akpoti-Uduaghan recorded her video during the routine check but did not update the public after she was cleared.
“She has travelled since then. The video was made while she was going through the checks, not after. The passport was never seized,” Akinlabi said.
When asked if Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan resisted handing over her passport for inspection, Akinlabi said he could not confirm that.
“I don’t know about that,” he replied. “But the officers conducting the checks are authorised to collect passports for verification and must return them once done, which they did.”
NPO reports that the Senator had on Tuesday morning alleged that Immigration Officers seized her passport on orders of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.