The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) 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 Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) 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 said Passport No. B51450551 was issued to Godwin-Isaac on February 15, 2025, while her arraignment in connection with two criminal charges took place on June 18, 2025.
In a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, on Thursday, the NIS said 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.
The Service said she applied for reissuance of the passport on February 5, 2025, to extend its validity and submitted the applicable requirements.
“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 statement said.
According to the NIS, the previous passport was cancelled in its records after the new one was issued and ceased to be valid for international travel.
The Service also said it had not been served with, or formally notified of, any court order, watchlist instruction or other lawful restriction preventing the issuance of a passport to Godwin-Isaac or restricting her international travel when the new passport was issued.
The NIS said the order requiring her to deposit her passport with the court was made after the issuance of Passport No. B51450551.
“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,” it said.
The Service, however, distinguished between the issuance of the passport and compliance with the later court order requiring its deposit.
It said any question concerning compliance with the court’s order remained a matter for the court and other competent authorities.
The NIS further disclosed that its records showed Godwin-Isaac travelled to Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom after her arraignment.
It said that, at the relevant 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 timely and formal communication of court orders or directives was necessary where restrictions required implementation through its 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 added that it would cooperate with any lawful investigation into the circumstances surrounding the passport issuance and make relevant records available to the appropriate authorities, subject to applicable law.
