The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has explained why the passport of End SARS protest frontliner, Modupe Odele was seized while stating that it had nothing to do with the part she played in the campaign against police brutality.
Modupe “Moe” Odele, a legal practitioner and member of the Feminist Coalition, had narrated how she was stopped from travelling out of the country for her birthday and her passport was seized.
This led to outrage as people accused the government of intimidation.
The Spokesman for the NIS, Mr. Sunday James, has now told Punch that Moe’s passport was seized as part of a routine border assignment.
Speaking on Thursday night, November 5, Mr Sunday James said that whenever a restriction has been placed on any individual, the immigration service is duty-bound to enforce it.
James said immigration did not seize Odele’s passport because of her #EndSARS activities but because it was enforcing a restriction order.
He said, “When there is a directive from any agency of government not specific, we've to enforce either entry or restriction of entry by anybody who has been directed not to be allowed exit or entry and as a matter of fact, we can't as a border management agency, allow anybody who has been restricted from leaving the country to go out and we can't allow anybody who has been restricted from entry to enter.
“So, it's a routine assignment and it's nothing to do with End SARS. We're the lead agency for the security management of the border. It's to do with the restriction order which we're duty-bound to enforce.”