The Nigeria Immigration Service says the passport of #EndSARS promoter, Modupe Odele aka Mochievous, was seized as part of a routine border assignment.
The Spokesman for the NIS, Mr. Sunday James, told The PUNCH on Thursday night 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 have 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 cannot as a border management agency, allow anybody who has been restricted from leaving the country to go out and we cannot allow anybody who has been restricted from entry to enter.
“So, it is a routine assignment and it has nothing to do with End SARS. We are the lead agency for the security management of the border. It has to do with the restriction order which we are duty-bound to enforce.”
The NIS had on Sunday stopped Odele from boarding an Emirates flight to the Maldives through Dubai.
Odele, who is a lawyer, was one of the prominent faces in the #EndSARS movement and gave free legal assistance to several persons who were unjustly arrested by the police.
The Punch