Immigration officers at a Nigerian airport have reportedly seized the international passport of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central.
The lawmaker, in a live Facebook broadcast on Tuesday morning, alleged that the action was carried out on the orders of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan said she had planned to take a short break following the celebration of her second year in office but was stopped from travelling when officials withheld her passport.
“Having completed the celebration of my second year, I decided to take a week off, and my passport is being withheld again. The same thing happened before,” she said.
The senator insisted that she had committed no offence and that there was no court order authorising the seizure of her travel document.
“I have committed no offence, and there is no order from any court to seize my passport or deny me from travelling,” she said.
She alleged that during a similar incident in the past, an airport official disclosed that the instruction to hold her passport came from the Senate President.
“The last time it happened, the officer in charge told us that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling,” she claimed.
As of press time, neither the Nigeria Immigration Service nor the Office of the Senate President had commented on the allegation.