President Bola Tinubu has reportedly directed the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi to discontinue all pending cases filed by the Federal Government against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The lawmaker who made the revelation during a live Facebook broadcast on Tuesday stated that despite the alleged presidential instruction, she was still prevented from travelling, in what she described as a clear case of political obstruction.
Akpoti-Uduaghan stated that Tinubu had privately acknowledged that the charges against her—filed earlier this year in Abuja courts—were politically motivated and should not proceed.
According to her, the President told Senate President Godswill Akpabio to “terminate all the cases.” Yet, she claimed the directive had been ignored by those she accused of weaponising the justice system.
The confrontation escalated on Tuesday morning when immigration officers stopped her from boarding an international flight.
The senator said her passport was seized for over 20 minutes with no court order presented to justify the action.
She alleged that the instruction to ground her travel originated from Akpabio, whom she accused of overreaching his authority.
“Is Godswill Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries?” she asked in the broadcast, saying the Senate President had no legal power to countermand the President’s decision or interfere with her constitutional right to travel.
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Describing the experience as humiliating, Akpoti-Uduaghan said this was not the first time she had been barred from travelling.
She insisted that immigration officials acted unlawfully, stressing that only a valid court order—not political directives—can authorize the confiscation of a citizen’s international passport.
Her legal troubles date back to multiple cases filed in 2025. In May, she was charged under FHC/ABJ/CR/195/25, shortly after a separate case, CR/297/25, was initiated at the FCT High Court.
Both cases accused her of making statements that allegedly defamed Senate President Akpabio and former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims that Tinubu had ordered the AGF to withdraw all charges instantly broadened the political implications of the dispute.
If true, the continued enforcement actions against her—including the seizure of her passport—would suggest friction within the federal power structure and potential institutional disobedience to the President.
As the controversy deepened, the senator vowed not to be intimidated. She said she would continue to speak publicly about what she called systematic efforts to silence her voice, adding that no amount of pressure would deter her from performing her legislative duties or defending her reputation.
