Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of instructing immigration officers to confiscate her international passport at the airport, effectively preventing her from leaving the country.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday, the senator was seen confronting immigration officials over what she described as an unlawful seizure of her travel document.
“Hello Nigerians, I’m Senator Natasha. After completing my second year in office, I decided to take a week off. I’m currently at the airport, and my passport has been seized again,” she said in the video.
She claimed that the officers told her they were acting on Akpabio’s orders, alleging that the Senate President accused her of “damaging Nigeria’s image abroad” through interviews with international media each time she travelled.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan condemned the act as an unjust restriction of her freedom of movement and a violation of her constitutional rights, calling on the authorities to put an end to what she termed repeated “harassment and intimidation.”
As of the time of this report, neither the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) nor the Office of the Senate President had commented on the allegations.
This is not the first time Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has clashed with Akpabio. On May 19, 2025, newsmen reported that she had filed a petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, accusing the Senate President of orchestrating a campaign to destroy her credibility and silence her after she accused him of sexual harassment.
According to her legal team, led by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN), the senator alleged that her reputation, personal safety, and political career had come under threat due to a coordinated effort of defamation, cyberstalking, and intimidation allegedly backed by Akpabio.
The petition claimed that the attacks began shortly after her televised accusation against the Senate President on February 28, 2025, and that the smear campaign was fronted by an online figure known as “Professor Mgbeke.”
Initially, “Prof. Mgbeke” appeared to show sympathy for the senator, but after Akpoti-Uduaghan refused to engage in any “transactional dealings,” the account allegedly launched a sustained online assault on her reputation.
Investigations later revealed that “Prof. Mgbeke” was actually Dr. Sandra Chidinma Duru, a Nigerian based in Texas. Apkoti -Uduaghan said she learned of Duru’s identity only after a live broadcast on May 1, 2025, and subsequent findings by journalists and law enforcement.
Her petition alleged that Duru’s phone log — which was inadvertently shown during a livestream — contained contacts linked to high-profile figures, including “Senator Akpabio” (with two phone numbers), “IGP Kayode,” and “Oby Ndukwe.”
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan described this as evidence of a well-coordinated plot to destroy her public image and undermine her political standing, urging the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the alleged conspiracy.
