By our correspondent
ABUJA – The Nigeria Immigration Service has clarified that the Nigerian passport issued to Mrs Rebecca Omokamo Godwin-Isaac was obtained about four months before she was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Service, in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, on Thursday, said Passport No. B51450551 was issued to Godwin-Isaac on February 15, 2025, while her arraignment took place on June 18, 2025.
The clarification followed reports alleging that the NIS issued a new passport to Godwin-Isaac while she was facing criminal proceedings and in defiance of a Federal High Court order.
According to the Service, its records showed that Godwin-Isaac had previously been issued Passport No. B00485650 on August 13, 2021, with an expiry date of August 12, 2026.
It said she applied for the reissuance of the passport on February 5, 2025, to extend its validity and submitted the required documents.
“Following the processing of that application and having satisfied the requirements including applicable identity-verification and biometric requirements, Passport No. B51450551 was issued to her on 15th February 2025,” the NIS said.
The Service added that the earlier passport was cancelled in its records after the new one was issued and ceased to be valid for international travel.
The NIS stressed that it had not, as of February 15, 2025, been served with or formally notified of any court order, watchlist instruction or other lawful restriction prohibiting the issuance of a passport to Godwin-Isaac or restricting her international travel.
It noted that the order requiring her to deposit her passport with the court was made after the new passport had already been issued.
“Accordingly, the suggestion that the Nigeria Immigration Service issued Passport No. B51450551 to Mrs Godwin-Isaac during her trial or in defiance of the subsequent order of the Federal High Court is inconsistent with the chronology reflected in the Service’s records,” the statement said.
The NIS further said Godwin-Isaac subsequently travelled to Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom after her arraignment.
It explained that, at the material times, it had not received any court order, watchlist instruction or other lawful notification from the Federal High Court, the prosecuting agency or another competent authority directing it to restrict her international travel.
The Service said compliance with the subsequent court order requiring Godwin-Isaac to deposit her passport remained a separate matter for the court and other competent authorities to determine.
It added that where a court or competent authority imposes a travel restriction requiring implementation by the NIS, timely and formal communication of the relevant order or directive was necessary for the Service to activate the appropriate border-management and travel-control systems.
The NIS said it remained committed to institutional accountability, the rule of law and the integrity of Nigeria’s passport and border-management systems.
It also pledged to cooperate with any lawful investigation into the circumstances surrounding the issuance of the passport and make relevant records available to the appropriate authorities, subject to applicable law.