The embattled Senator representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has accused the Nigerian Senate of victimizing her and trying to silence her by placing a six months suspension on her.
In an interview with the BBC News Africa on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan who was suspended by the Senate on March 6, following her altercation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio amid her allegations of sexual harassment against him, described her suspension as a deliberate attempt to silence her.
“I am being victimised. My suspension is a way to silence me,” she said in the interview.
Narrating the genesis of her experience, the senator recounted her encounter with Akpabio at his home in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
“We were at his country home. He was taking me around his house. My husband was walking behind us. He held my hand,” she said.
“He then squeezed my hands in a very suggestive way. We, women, know what it means when a man squeezes our hands in a suggestive way.
“And he went, ‘Now that you’re in the Senate, I’ll make an opportunity for us to come here and have a good moment,’ you know, along that line.”
Also hinting at another scenario, Akpoti-Uduaghan said:
“There was a time when I rushed to work and forgot to wear my ring. There were about five senators there. He said, ‘Oh Natasha, you are not wearing your ring, is this an invitation to treat?’ You know, statements like this.”
Nigerian Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has alleged that she experienced sexual harassment involving the Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In response, Deputy Chief Whip Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, speaking on behalf of the Senate President’s office, denied the allegations. pic.twitter.com/JtCyr67Uri
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) March 18, 2025