Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Rejects Calls to Retract Sexual Harassment Allegation Against Senate President Akpabio

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has rejected demands from Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba, to withdraw her sexual harassment allegation.

In a letter dated April 30, 2025, the Kogi Central lawmaker vowed to pursue the case to its logical conclusion in court.

Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former NBA president, had accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of presenting “significant inconsistencies” in her claims, highlighting the puzzling fact that she publicly praised Akpabio on social media a day after the alleged harassment incident on December 8, 2023. He described her allegations as “clearly false and unsubstantiated” and demanded a retraction.

Responding firmly, Akpoti-Uduaghan stated that her allegations are truthful and faulted Agbakoba for requesting evidence outside the legal pleadings already filed in the Federal Capital Territory High Court, where a related suit by Akpabio’s wife is pending. She wrote, “The assessment of evidence belongs to the courts alone,” and criticized the narrow understanding of sexual harassment reflected in Agbakoba’s demands.

She also condemned what she described as attempts to manipulate public opinion through media campaigns, stressing the principle that “a litigant may not approbate in the courts and reprobate in the press.” Akpoti-Uduaghan warned that bypassing court procedures threatens the rule of law.

The case remains under judicial consideration following Akpoti-Uduaghan’s formal petition to the Senate and the referral of the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee for investigation.