By OBSERVERS TIMES
A sexual harassment petition filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio has opened a new chapter in Nigeria’s political discourse, spotlighting issues of gender-based misconduct, legislative abuse of power and institutional accountability in the highest lawmaking chamber.
The petition, dated 4 March 2025 and addressed to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, accuses Senator Akpabio of “reprehensible acts of sexual harassment” against Akpoti-Uduaghan in December 2023 and again in May 2024. The document further alleges that the Senate President used his office to obstruct her legislative work and attempted to remove her from a committee leadership position in retaliation for refusing his advances.
“My refusal to acquiesce with his advances,” Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote in the petition, “has not only prompted his abuse of power as Senate President, obstructing my efforts to provide effective representation, but has also emboldened him to attempt removing me from my position as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content.”
She continued: “He has taken steps to hinder my motions and bills, often by ensuring they are removed from the Order Paper, and by doing so has undermined the very essence of democracy and fair representation that our Senate stands for.”
In a detailed rebuttal dated 14 April 2025, Akpabio’s legal team at Olisa Agbakoba Legal, led by Dr Csa Astarota SAN, dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated. The legal response questioned the timeline and the credibility of the senator’s claims, citing contradictory actions and public statements made by her within days of the alleged incidents.
“On the one hand,” the letter stated, “you complain about sexual harassment on December 8, 2023; yet on the other, you praise Senator Akpabio’s leadership on December 9, 2023.”
The lawyers attached screenshots of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s social media posts where she publicly lauded Akpabio’s leadership and expressed admiration for his role in the Senate. “It is simply impossible to reconcile your conduct on 9 December 2023 with your complaints of harassment on 8 December 2023,” the response read.
The legal team further accused her of making a pattern of unsubstantiated allegations. “You are reported to have accused Reno Omokri of sexual harassment in 2014. However, in 2021, you withdrew the allegation, stating you mistakenly made it,” the lawyers wrote. “The said Mr Omokri had presented proof that he was not even in Nigeria at the time.”
Calling her actions “most unusual,” Akpabio’s lawyers demanded proof. “You have not presented any material evidence or witness to support your allegation of harassment. We urge you to provide details so we may respond further,” the letter said.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has not publicly released audio, visual or witness evidence but maintains that such evidence exists and may be provided during a formal hearing before the Senate committee.
In her petition, the senator also referenced an earlier allegation of sexual misconduct levelled against Akpabio by Dr Joi Nunieh, former acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in 2020. Nunieh, at the time, alleged that Akpabio had sexually harassed her during her tenure. That allegation did not result in prosecution or disciplinary action.
Akpoti-Uduaghan also accused Akpabio of making indirect threats and sending emissaries to persuade her to withdraw the petition.
“Since submitting my petition, I have been approached by individuals believed to be acting on his behalf, warning of political consequences should I refuse to recant,” she wrote. “I view these actions as attempts to intimidate me into silence.”
Akpabio’s legal team responded that the petition’s “widespread media coverage has damaged our client’s reputation locally and internationally,” and warned that “we reserve the right to explore all legal remedies available under Nigerian law.”
BACKGROUND AND POLITICAL CONTEXT
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, was sworn into the 10th Senate on 2 November 2023 following a Court of Appeal ruling which affirmed her electoral victory. A lawyer and social entrepreneur, she has long been an advocate for industrial revitalisation in Kogi State, especially the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
She claims that multiple attempts to sponsor motions or bills related to Ajaokuta were frustrated by Akpabio’s office, which she linked directly to her refusal to yield to his alleged personal overtures.
“This targeted obstruction of my legislative activities,” she wrote, “is not only a personal affront but a disservice to the people of Kogi Central and Nigeria as a whole.”
The letter from Akpabio’s lawyers did not address the Ajaokuta motion claims directly but argued that all senators are subject to the Senate’s legislative calendar and decisions taken in plenary.
GENDER, POWER AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 criminalises sexual harassment, including unwanted verbal, physical or psychological advances in any context. Abuse of public office for sexual gain is also deemed gross misconduct under Nigerian civil service rules and anti-corruption laws.
However, implementation remains weak. As Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly commences its legislative duties, a glaring issue persists: the underrepresentation of women in both chambers. Despite decades of advocacy for gender equality, the current composition of the National Assembly reflects a significant gender imbalance.
In the 10th National Assembly, women occupy only four out of 109 seats in the Senate, accounting for approximately 3.7% representation. In the House of Representatives, women hold 17 out of 360 seats, representing about 4.7% of the chamber. Collectively, women constitute roughly 4.4% of the 469-member National Assembly.
This marks a decline from the 9th Assembly, where women held eight Senate seats (7.3%) and 13 seats in the House (3.6%), totaling approximately 4.5% representation.
The highest number of women ever elected into the National Assembly was 36 in 2007, with 27 in the House and nine in the Senate. Since then, there has been a steady decline: 32 in 2011, 29 in 2015, and 17 in 2019.
This downward trend underscores the challenges women face in Nigerian politics, including cultural biases, financial constraints, and limited access to party structures.
Nigeria’s female representation in parliament ranks among the lowest globally. As of January 2025, Nigeria ranks 178 out of 182 countries regarding female representation in national parliaments, with only 3.9% of seats in the lower house and 2.8% in the upper house occupied by women.
This is despite a 2021 Federal High Court judgment calling on the government to enforce 35% representation of women in appointive positions. The National Gender Policy also advocates for a minimum of 35% affirmative action for women in governance.
In March 2025, during the International Women’s Day celebrations, Senate President Godswill Akpabio pledged to ensure 35% affirmative action for women in the National Assembly and throughout all governance processes. He emphasized that lawmakers would work to remove all obstacles hindering the socio-economic progress of women and gender equality.
In March 2025, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) highlighted Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case during a session on gender in politics, stating that “parliaments must not only adopt codes of conduct but enforce them transparently and without prejudice.”
REPUTATIONAL CONSEQUENCES AND MEDIA ATTENTION
The allegations have attracted significant media attention. Outlets such as Arise TV, Channels Television, Sahara Reporters, BBC Africa, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle and Sky News have reported extensively on the case. Social media platforms have amplified the discourse, with hashtags like #StandWithNatasha and #DefendTheSenatePresident trending at different times.
While some Nigerians are calling for Akpabio’s immediate resignation or suspension pending investigation, others have questioned Akpoti-Uduaghan’s motives and the timing of her petition.
Civil society groups have urged the Senate to allow the Ethics Committee to conduct a full public hearing.
“This is a moment for the National Assembly to show that it will protect its members especially women from victimisation, while also ensuring due process,” said a joint statement from several women’s rights groups.
The Observers Times reports that legal fireworks resumed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, May 13, 2025, as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawsuit against her suspension from the Senate took a new twist, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio denying the involvement of two senior lawyers accused of contempt.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, through his legal representatives, told Justice Binta Nyako that Chief Olisa Agbakoba and Mr Monday Ubani, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), were not part of his legal team.
“The two senior lawyers being accused of disobeying the orders of the court are not members of Akpabio’s legal team,” lawyers representing the Senate and Akpabio clarified during proceedings.
The clarification followed a counter affidavit filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan on May 8, 2025, in which she alleged that Akpabio had, through Agbakoba and Ubani, violated the court’s order barring parties from media commentary on the ongoing case.
The lawsuit, filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan, seeks to challenge her suspension from the Senate on March 5, 2025, which she alleges was orchestrated by Akpabio and others following her refusal to yield to alleged sexual advances.
The respondents in the suit include the Clerk of the Senate, the Senate itself, the President of the Senate, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, all parties informed the court that their schedules of documents had been filed, with readiness to proceed. However, senior lawyers Paul Daudu and Eko Ejembi Eko (SANs), representing the respondents, brought forward an affidavit of non-compliance, alleging that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had violated the court’s order through a satirical letter she published on Facebook on April 27.
“The satirical apology was not just a mockery of the Senate and colleagues of the plaintiff but dwelt more on the substance of the case before the court,” Daudu told Justice Nyako.
The letter, widely circulated on social media and published by various mainstream outlets, was described by the defence as an act of contempt that undermined the court’s earlier restraining order of April 4, which barred all parties from speaking to the media until the case resumed on May 12.
In a swift response, counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan, Mr Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), argued that the satirical letter had nothing to do with the case before Justice Nyako but was related to a separate sexual harassment matter allegedly involving the Senate President.
“Whereas the issue before the court centred on her alleged unlawful suspension, her letter addressed to Akpabio and not the court was on her alleged sexual harassment by the Senate President,” the affidavit stated.
Okutepa further accused the respondents of disobeying court orders themselves and urged the court to first hear the contempt proceedings initiated against them.
“That the 3rd Defendant’s application is not only malicious but if granted, would amount to rewarding contempt, encouraging procedural ambushes, and punishing my constituents by prolonging the void in representation at the Senate,” Akpoti-Uduaghan noted in her affidavit.
She also accused Akpabio of deliberately employing delay tactics to prolong her absence from legislative activities.
“These actions form part of a series of calculated moves by the 3rd defendant to frustrate the judicial process and ensure that I do not return to the Senate, thereby completing the term of my unlawful suspension without judicial resolution,” she added.
Justice Nyako, in a brief ruling, described the issue of contempt as central to the proceedings and adjourned the matter to May 13 for the hearing of all applications and the substantive suit.
The controversy over Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension began on March 4, when she approached the court seeking an interim order to stop the Senate from taking any disciplinary action against her. Justice Emeka Nwite granted the application and summoned the Senate Committee on Ethics and other respondents to appear in court. Nonetheless, on March 5, the Senate proceeded to suspend her for six months.
Following an allegation of bias made by Akpabio, Justice Nwite recused himself from the case, which was subsequently reassigned to Justice Nyako.
The legal battle has since spilled into the public domain, particularly after the plaintiff’s viral letter. Public engagement on social media has also been fierce.
The Observers Times learned that Akpoti-Uduaghan has expressed willingness to present witnesses and documentation.
Akpabio’s legal team, on the other hand, insists that unless verifiable evidence is presented, the matter is “a spurious and malicious campaign” designed to “distract the Senate and mislead the public.”
Both parties have now placed their accounts on the record. The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions is expected to begin deliberations, though no official date has been announced.
Whether the case proceeds to a formal public hearing or is resolved internally, it has already exposed systemic weaknesses in how Nigeria’s legislative institutions deal with gender-based complaints, especially when the accused holds a powerful office.
