By Newsie:-
Modupe Odele, a lawyer and major mobiliser of the #EndSARS movement on Thursday, lamented how she has been forced to go on exile due to immigration problems.
She made this known via her Twitter account and said;
“You force me to go on exile from my own country for no crime. I can’t visit and go as I please anymore.”
“I would have missed my flight if I didn’t make those calls. Because the person to do the secondary clearance wasn’t “on sit”, she added.
Been identified as one of the front liners of the #EndSARS protest, she has been having issues travelling out of the country since the protests that rocked the country for almost three weeks ended, and this is the second time.
Odele was earlier prevented from travelling out of the country on November 2 – a few days after the protest against police brutality in Nigeria ended abruptly following the attack on protesters by the Nigerian army officers at Lekki toll gate plaza on October 20.
She got to the airport and was going through the clearance process to board her flight when her passport was seized and was only returned eight days after.
No reason was given for the seizure except that it was a routine immigration check, however, many believe that it could be connected to her role in the #EndSARS protests.
She was among those who coordinated the provision of legal, medical, and security support for the protesters, especially in Lagos.
On Monday, a media report claimed that Odele and other influential figures in the two-week protest against police brutality have been placed on a ‘no-travel’ by the Nigerian government.
However, the government said the report is ‘fake news’ and that it should be ignored.
According to Nigeria’s ministry of interior, “The Ministry of Interior did not, has not, and will not generate any no-fly list.”
However, Odele’s new ordeal with the immigration officers suggests otherwise.
“I’m told I’ll always be stopped like that upon entry to or exit from Nigeria. What is my crime again? Providing legal aid?”
She further revealed that the immigration officer that scanned her passport at the airport told her “you get problem o.”
The immigration is yet to speak on Odele’s ordeal.
There have been allegations of a witchhunt against popular supporters of the #EndSARS. While some have been unduly picked up by police, some others have had their bank accounts restricted to date.
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