The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has denied receiving any court order restricting the international travel of Mrs Rebecca Omokamo Godwin-Isaac, saying no court order, watchlist instruction or other lawful directive was served on the Service at the time she travelled out of the country following her arraignment.
The Nigerian Immigration Service also clarified that the Nigerian passport currently at the centre of the controversy was issued to Godwin-Isaac about four months before she was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja, stressing that the document was not issued while her criminal proceedings were pending.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the NIS Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, following reports alleging that the Service issued a fresh passport to Godwin-Isaac during the pendency of her criminal case and in contravention of an order of the Federal High Court.
According to the Service, Passport No. B51450551 was issued to Godwin-Isaac on February 15, 2025, while her arraignment before the Federal High Court, Abuja, took place on June 18, 2025.
The NIS said its records showed that Godwin-Isaac had previously been issued Nigerian Passport No. B00485650 on August 13, 2021, with an expiry date of August 12, 2026.
It said she subsequently applied for the reissuance of the passport on February 5, 2025, to extend its validity and submitted the applicable requirements.
The application, according to the Service, was processed after she satisfied the relevant requirements, including identity verification and biometric checks, leading to the issuance of Passport No. B51450551 on February 15, 2025.
Following the issuance of the new passport, the earlier passport was cancelled in the NIS records and ceased to be valid for international travel.
The Service said that as of February 15, 2025, it had not been served with or otherwise 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.
Godwin-Isaac was subsequently arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Charge Nos. FHC/ABJ/CR/76/2025 and FHC/ABJ/CR/77/2025 on June 18, 2025.
The NIS said the order requiring her to deposit her passport with the court was therefore made after Passport No. B51450551 had already been issued.
It consequently said the suggestion that it issued the passport to Godwin-Isaac during her trial or in defiance of a subsequent order of the Federal High Court was inconsistent with the chronology contained in its records.
The Service, however, noted that the question of whether Godwin-Isaac complied with the subsequent court order directing her to deposit her passport was separate from the issue of whether the NIS issued the passport in contravention of that order.
It said questions concerning compliance with the terms of bail or any other judicial directive remained matters for determination by the court and other competent authorities.
The Immigration Service further disclosed that its records showed that Godwin-Isaac subsequently travelled to Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom after her arraignment.
It said 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 explained that where a court or competent authority imposes a restriction requiring implementation by the NIS, timely and formal communication of the relevant order or directive enables the agency to give effect to such restriction through the appropriate border-management and travel-control systems.
The NIS said it recognised the seriousness of the issues raised and remained committed to institutional accountability, the rule of law and the integrity of Nigeria’s passport and border-management systems.
