The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has clarified that the Nigerian passport issued to Mrs Rebecca Omokamo Godwin-Isaac was obtained four months before her arraignment at the Federal High Court, Abuja, and was not issued in defiance of any known court order.
The Service, in a statement issued on Friday by its Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, said its records showed that Passport No. B51450551 was issued to Godwin-Isaac on February 15, 2025, while her arraignment took place on June 18, 2025.
According to the NIS, Godwin-Isaac had earlier been issued Passport No. B00485650 on August 13, 2021, valid until August 12, 2026. She subsequently applied for its reissuance on February 5, 2025, to extend its validity and submitted the required documentation.
The Service said the new passport was issued after she completed the applicable identity-verification and biometric 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.
The NIS explained that the earlier passport was cancelled upon issuance of the new document and ceased to be valid for international travel.
It further stated that, as of February 15, 2025, it had received no court order, watchlist instruction or other lawful restriction prohibiting the issuance of the passport or restricting Godwin-Isaac’s international travel.
Godwin-Isaac was subsequently arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on June 18, 2025, in Charge Nos. FHC/ABJ/CR/76/2025 and FHC/ABJ/CR/77/2025.
The Service said the court order requiring her to deposit her passport was therefore made after the disputed passport had already been issued, stressing that the question of whether she complied with the subsequent order was separate from whether the NIS breached the order when issuing the passport.
“The Service considers it appropriate that questions concerning compliance with the terms of any bail or other judicial order remain matters for determination by the Court and other competent authorities,” it said.
The NIS also disclosed that its records indicated that Godwin-Isaac travelled to Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom after her arraignment.
It said no formal directive had been received from the Federal High Court, the prosecuting agency or any other competent authority at the relevant times instructing the Service to restrict her international travel.
According to the NIS, where a court imposes a travel restriction requiring implementation by the Immigration Service, the relevant order or directive must be formally and timely communicated to enable the Service to activate appropriate border-management and travel-control measures.
The Service 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 provide relevant records to competent authorities, subject to applicable law.
The NIS said the controversy should therefore be viewed against two distinct timelines: the February 15, 2025 issuance of the passport, which preceded the June 18 arraignment and subsequent court order, and the separate question of compliance with any restrictions imposed by the court thereafter.
