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Beyond Duplication: Building Stronger Institutions

By Fred Nwaozor Nigeria’s law-enforcement institutions remain central to the protection of lives, property, public resources and the rule of law. However, concerns about overlapping mandates, institutional weaknesses, inadequate coordination and the cost of maintaining numerous agencies performing closely related functions have continued to generate debate. Strengthening these institutions should therefore go beyond increasing personnel or procuring equipment. It should involve structural reforms that improve effectiveness, accountability and public confidence. One important area for reform is the rationalisation of agencies with substantially overlapping responsibilities. The existence of several institutions dealing with corruption, financial crimes, economic offences and related misconduct can create duplication, jurisdictional confusion and unnecessary administrative expenditure. A carefully designed merger of related agencies could pr...

NIS seizes Natasha's Passport at Abuja Airport

Rufus Okoro
The officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have seized the international passport of the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

Akpoti-Uduaghan disclosed this in a video shared on social media on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

Speaking in the video, the senator said her international passport is being withheld by Immigration officers, preventing her from travelling abroad.

The lawmaker, who was visibly angry at the situation, said there was no court order directing the NIS officers to withhold her international passport.

Akpoti-Uduaghan said: “Have I committed any offence? Why are you withholding my passport? I’m at the airport and my passport is being withheld again. There is no order from the court to withhold my passport.

“The last time this happened, the officer in charge told us that the Senate President Godswill Akpabio instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling.”

It would be recalled that sometime in July 2025, the NIS officers seized Akpoti-Uduaghan’s passport at the airport while on her way to board a British Airways flight to London.

After a drama, the senator’s passport was returned without any formal explanation, allowing her to swiftly proceed through immigration and board her flight.

Fred Nwaozor, popularly known as TheMediaAmbassador, is a Nigerian tech expert, author, creative & content writer, media strategist, policy analyst, blogger, public speaker and rights activist. The renowned columnist regularly writes for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and is the Founder & Convener of Right Thinkers Movement (RITMO), Nigeria. He's a chartered industrial physicist, engineer and IT personnel. As a media guru, he enjoys an active presence in all media segments - including electronic, print & online - since two decades ago till date. As a full-time researcher and educator, he's a regular contributor and peer reviewer for various internationally-noted engineering journals. As Telecommunications and Automation engineer, his research interest mainly lies in System Modelling, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart city, Cybersecurity, Wireless networks, and Machine Learning (ML).