Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of ordering immigration officers to seize her international passport at the airport, stopping her from travelling abroad.
The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday and was captured in a video, where she was seen confronting immigration officials over the confiscation.
Natasha described the move as an attempt to restrict her freedom of movement and said it was unlawful.
She explained that she had planned to take a short break after completing her second year in office but was prevented from travelling when immigration officials allegedly informed her that the directive came from the Senate President.
She said the same thing happened during a previous trip where she was stopped without any legal order or pending case against her.
Natasha accused Akpabio of claiming that her international interviews damage Nigeria’s image, adding that she had done nothing wrong to justify being repeatedly targeted.
The senator expressed anger over what she called continuous intimidation and harassment, calling on the authorities to intervene and put an end to the situation.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian Immigration Service and the office of the Senate President had not issued any official statement regarding the allegation.
This is not the first time the lawmaker has accused Akpabio of targeting her.
On May 19, 2025, she petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, through her legal team led by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN), alleging that Akpabio orchestrated a smear campaign to damage her reputation after she accused him of sexual harassment on national television in February 2025.
In the petition, she claimed that the Senate President used his influence to sponsor false stories and online attacks through individuals linked to him.
She also alleged that one of the people involved in the campaign was a Texas-based Nigerian woman identified as Dr. Sandra Chidinma Duru, who operated social media accounts used to defame her.
According to the petition, Duru allegedly exposed her link to Akpabio during a live broadcast when her phone’s call log showed saved contacts including “Senator Akpabio,” “IGP Kayode,” and “Oby Ndukwe.”
Natasha maintained that the campaign against her was carefully planned to destroy her image and silence her from speaking out.
Both the Senate President and the Nigerian Immigration Service are yet to respond publicly to the fresh allegations.
