Release Peter Odili’s passport, court tells NIS

ABUJA, Nigeria – A Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja has ordered the  Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS to release the International Passport of former governor of Rivers State, Mr. peter Odili to him.

Justice Inyang Ekwo  who was ruling on the matter held that there was no legal justification for the action taken by the  NIS against the former governor.

Peter Odili had approached the court, challenging the decision of the NIS to seize his international passport.

Odili  had told the court that his passport, numbered B50031305, was seized from him on June 20 by NIS officials for undisclosed reason after he landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and that NIS had refused to release the passport to him.

In an affidavit, the former governor,  said he landed at the airport from the United Kingdom where he had gone for his routine medical checkup and that  upon his arrival, his traveling documents were checked and given back to him and that while he waited for his luggage to be cleared, an Immigration official approached him and demanded for the passport, claiming it was for routing check.

Odili told the court that he complied and handed his documents over to the official who went away with it and failed to return  the passport to him till date.

He prayed the court to compel the two Respondents in the matter to release the passport to him, as well as to issue an order of perpetual injunction stopping them from further harassing, embarrassing, intimidating or interfering with his fundamental right to freedom of movement.

He equally prayed the court to compel the Respondents, the NIS and its Comptroller General to tender written apology to him for the embarrassment caused him by the Immigration.

In its reply, the NIS maintained that its action was based on a directive from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which it said had placed the erstwhile governor on its watchlist.