The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has returned the travel passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
POLITICS NIGERIA reported that the lawmaker earlier today raised alarm after officials stopped her at the airport and withheld the document.
The incident triggered public backlash and immediate reactions online.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, was blocked from travelling on Tuesday morning.
She accused immigration officers of acting without any legal grounds.
The senator also went live to express her frustration and to call out those she believed were responsible.
“I have committed no offence and there is no order from the court to withhold my passport and deny me travelling…” she said in a viral video, insisting the act was targeted and politically motivated.
She claimed that the same situation happened to her previously. According to her, the passport was only released the last time after a powerful intervention.
The passionate outburst continued, as she questioned the authority behind the action.
“Now again, you’re withholding my passport… Is Godswin Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries?” she stated, accusing the Senate President of ordering the seizure to stop her from travelling.
The senator insisted she has no pending court travel restrictions and has always honoured her cases.
She stressed that neither the courts nor federal authorities placed a travel ban on her.
“I am not a flight risk… So why are you treating me like a criminal?” she said.
Minutes after the video gained massive attention, immigration officials released the passport.
“If I had not gone public, would you have given me my passport,” she added, suggesting that the public pressure forced compliance.
The senator, who recently marked her second year in office, described the situation as harassment meant to intimidate her politically.
Her dramatic confrontation at the airport has sparked conversations on abuse of power and political intimidation in Nigeria.
