Suspended Kogi Lawmaker Natasha Petitions IPU Over Senate President Akpabio

Suspended Kogi Lawmaker Natasha Petitions IPU Over Senate President Akpabio

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has taken her case against Nigerian Senate President Godswill Akpabio to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), alleging victimization and sexual harassment following her six-month suspension from the Senate.

Speaking at the Women in Parliament session at the United Nations in New York, Akpoti-Uduaghan described her suspension as unjust and called for the intervention of international democratic institutions.

In an emotional address, she decried what she termed an “unlawful” removal from legislative duties and expressed fears for her safety, suggesting that powerful figures in Nigeria might attempt to detain her in New York in retaliation for her statements.

Her suspension, announced by the Nigerian Senate in March, was based on recommendations from its Committee on Ethics, Rules, and Code of Conduct. As a result, she has been stripped of her salary, barred from the National Assembly premises, and prohibited from using the title of “senator” during the suspension period.