The woman who tore up her husband’s passport at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, on Saturday, Mrs Igiebor, has said that she is sane.
Her action has caused a lot of anxiety and condemnation but she said her action was a product of the tension she had suffered in her marriage.
In an online video on Monday, she declared: “This issue has been going on for a long time. And I have to do what I did. Don’t just look at my actions alone. I’m not a mad woman. I have gone through so many things. I have my own reasons.
“What if I had done this thing in Europe, where we came from? I don’t want him to go through much stress, which is why I did it in Nigeria. So many people at the airport that day saw me acting. It has been a family issue all the time. My husband even cannot speak about it. I suffered with him, and just like that, his family wants my suffering to be shattered.
“To be sincere, I did it so my husband would not return (to Europe). I have gone through pain. Many don’t know what I’m going through. My husband bought me an iPhone to calm me. It has been going on for years. He knows that I’ve not forgotten it; I’m just pretending to have gone past it.”
According to ‘The Punch’, the woman apologised to Nigerians who were angry over her action and to Nigerian immigration.
“Those of you calling for my arrest should come and hold me responsible. I cry every time after three kids. They should let me rip what I have sown with him. My husband should come out and say what happened,” she stressed.
Although Igiebor did not provide specific details about the events that led to the passport destruction, she hinted at family issues.
The PUNCH earlier reported Igiebor, in a viral video tearing her husband’s Nigerian Standard Passport shortly after they arrived at the Lagos Airport on Saturday, August 10, 2024.
In the footage, an agitated Igiebor, when questioned about her actions, retorted, “Is it your passport?”
However, the Nigeria Immigration Service has launched a probe into an incident.
This was contained in a statement released on Sunday by the NIS Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Udo.
The NIS noted that her actions could be a violation of Section 10(b) of the Immigration Act 2015 (as amended), which prohibits the willful destruction of Nigerian travel documents.
The act outlines specific penalties for such offences.
The statement further emphasised the service’s dedication to enforcing the Immigration Act strictly to safeguard national security and preserve the integrity of Nigeria’s legal and diplomatic instruments.
