NIS didn’t breach any court order’ on Godwin-Isaac passport controversy

Nigeria Immigration Service NIS has denied allegations that it unlawfully issued a second international passport to Mrs Rebecca Omokamo Godwin-Isaac, an Abuja-based realtor standing trial on land fraud charges before the Federal High Court, Abuja, insisting that the document was issued about four months before her arraignment and not in defiance of any court order.

Service Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, made the clarification on Friday in response to reports alleging that the Service issued a new passport to her during the pendency of criminal proceedings and in contravention of a Federal High Court order.

According to the statement, records available to the Service show that the passport in contention, Passport No. B51450551, was issued to Mrs Godwin-Isaac, also known in some reports as Hajia Bilikisu Ishaqu Aliyu, on February 15, 2025, approximately four months before her arraignment before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on June 18, 2025.

The Service explained that she had previously been issued Nigerian Passport No. B00485650 on August 13, 2021, with an expiry date of August 12, 2026, and had, on February 5, 2025, applied for its reissuance to extend its validity, submitting the applicable requirements.

Following the processing of that application, and after satisfying identity-verification and biometric requirements, the Service said Passport No. B51450551 was issued to her on February 15, 2025, upon which the earlier passport, B00485650, was cancelled in its records and ceased to be valid for international travel.

The NIS stressed that, as at the date Passport No. B51450551 was issued, 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 her or restricting her international travel.

It disclosed that Mrs 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, stressing that the order requiring the deposit of her passport with the court was therefore made after Passport No. B51450551 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 read.

The Service, however, drew a distinction between the question of whether it issued the passport in contravention of any order and the separate question of Mrs Godwin-Isaac’s compliance with the subsequent order of the court requiring the deposit of her passport, stating that the latter remains a matter for determination by the court and other competent authorities.

The NIS further disclosed that its records indicate that Mrs Godwin-Isaac subsequently travelled to Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom after her arraignment, noting 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 any other competent authority directing it to restrict her international travel.

It added that where a court or competent authority imposes a restriction requiring implementation by the Service, timely and formal communication of the relevant order enables it to give effect to such restriction through the appropriate border-management and travel-control systems.

The Service 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, pledging full cooperation with any lawful investigation into the circumstances surrounding the passport’s issuance, including making relevant records available to the appropriate authorities, subject to applicable law.

The controversy had earlier prompted the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to order an investigation into the matter, following petitions from lawyers representing the complainant’s family and the Initiative Against Human Rights Abuse and Torture (INAHURAT), who alleged that the disputed passport was obtained through a “non-appearance/no-show” process, with its photograph and signature digitally superimposed.

Mrs Godwin-Isaac is facing trial for land fraud, forgery and money laundering charges before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, in a case that also saw the court grant an interim forfeiture order over properties located in the Guzape and Katampe districts of Abuja, pending the determination of the criminal charges against her.