Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, says Nigerian immigration officers seized her international passport at the airport on the orders of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, stopping her from travelling out of the country.
In a video shared online on Tuesday, the senator was seen confronting immigration officials and asking why her passport was taken. She said this was not the first time such a thing had happened.
“Hello, fellow Nigerians. I’m Senator Natasha. After completing my second year in office, I wanted to take a week off. I’m here at the airport, and my passport has been taken again,” she said in the video.
“The officer told me that Senate President Akpabio ordered them to stop me because he claims I ‘spoil the image of Nigeria’ when I travel and speak to foreign media.”
She described the action as illegal, saying it violated her right to freedom of movement. Senator Natasha also called on the authorities to stop what she described as harassment and intimidation.
As of now, neither the Nigerian Immigration Service nor Senate President Akpabio’s office has released a statement on the matter.
This is the latest in a series of clashes between Senator Natasha and the Senate President.
In May 2025, SaharaReporters reported that she had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, accusing Akpabio of leading a smear campaign to destroy her reputation and silence her sexual harassment allegations against him.
Her lawyers, led by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa, SAN, said the campaign involved false online stories, defamation, and threats to her life. The petition claimed the attacks began soon after she accused Akpabio of sexual harassment on February 28, 2025, during a TV interview.
According to the petition, an online personality known as “Professor Mgbeke” was used to spread lies about her. Investigations later revealed the person behind the account as Dr. Sandra Chidinma Duru, a Nigerian living in Texas, USA.
The senator claimed she later discovered that Duru had close links to Akpabio. In a live broadcast on May 1, 2025, Duru allegedly showed her phone screen by mistake, revealing contacts saved under names such as “Senator Akpabio,” “IGP Kayode,” and “My Daddy Directline.”