How EndSARS Advocate Moe Odele Was Prevented From Travelling Abroad By Immigration Officials
She had plans to celebrate her 31st birthday in another country, but all that was dashed when her passport was seized by the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Moe Odele, a member of the Feminist Coalition and a lawyer was one of the women at the frontline of the End Sars protest where she offered legal assistance.
Odele who turned a year older on Monday, November 2nd narrated via a newsletter how she was stopped at the airport while on her way to the Maldives to celebrate her birthday.
She was detained and her passport seized.
“For my birthday, I had planned a trip to the Maldives. It was really for a break as the events of the last three weeks have exhausted my mind and body in a way I have never been exhausted in my life,” she said.
“I went to the airport, passed through immigration, and while I was putting my bags through the body and baggage scanner, the immigration officer who had previously cleared me, called me back. He told me he had orders from above to detain me.
“Okay, at this point I’m like excuse me, my flight is in an hour. On what grounds are you detaining me?” He didn’t respond. Instead, he goes to his computer where he typed in my name, and something that looked like a ‘wanted poster’ popped up on the portal.
“He blocked my view so I couldn’t see most of it but I saw some of it. And it read something like – ‘This person is under investigation by XYZ Intelligence Agency. If seen, they should be apprehended on sight.
“They held me for a little over an hour, seized my passport and I missed my flight. My passport is still seized up until this very moment and I have still not been made aware of what I am under investigation for.”
An hashtag #FreeMoe had trended on Monday evening as friends and followers took to Twitter to condemn the act.
In an update on Tuesday, Odele thanked everyone for their support adding that she was fine and safe.
Hello everyone. Thank you so much. I’m fine and I’m safe. We haven’t confirmed yet why I was stopped on Sunday or by whom. But I’ve been invited back in with my lawyers today. I’ll update when I have more information but please don’t spread false news. That is dangerous ??
— Moe (@Mochievous) November 3, 2020
Hello people, I went to retrieve my passport today but was told this: “We cannot release your passport because you are still under investigation”.
As of now, I’m not aware of any charges against me or what I am under investigation for.— Moe (@Mochievous) November 3, 2020
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