Sexual harassment: Natasha replies Agbakoba, let’s meet in court
The Senator representing Kogi Central at the Senate, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, insisted on pursuing the suit accusing the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of sexually harassing her to its logical conclusion in the Court.
In a correspondence to Akpabio’s counsel, Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), dated 30th April 2025, she asserted that her petition of sexual harassment represent the truth of the events complained about, adding she will reserve further comments for the Court, which has the exclusive preserve to exercise judgment on the propriety or otherwise of the matter.
The lawmaker faulted Agbakoba for allegedly calling on her to substantiate the allegations of sexual harassment against Akpabio, outside the pleadings already before the High Court of the FCT on the same complaint by Akpabio’s spouse, Unoma, in suit No. CV/816/25.
“The assessment of evidence belongs to the courts alone. The nature of your demand for evidence in this manner, at the instance of your client, simply indicates a broader misconception of what truly amounts to sexual harassment as prescribed in several global protocols,” she argued.
“It underscores a narrow perspective of the nature of this global menace. It is in my respectful opinion that this is another attempt by your client to play to the gallery and relegate this matter yet again to the backwaters.
The Senator representing Kogi Central at the Senate, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, insisted on pursuing the suit accusing the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of sexually harassing her to its logical conclusion in the Court.
In a correspondence to Akpabio’s counsel, Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), dated 30th April 2025, she asserted that her petition of sexual harassment represent the truth of the events complained about, adding she will reserve further comments for the Court, which has the exclusive preserve to exercise judgment on the propriety or otherwise of the matter.
The lawmaker faulted Agbakoba for allegedly calling on her to substantiate the allegations of sexual harassment against Akpabio, outside the pleadings already before the High Court of the FCT on the same complaint by Akpabio’s spouse, Unoma, in suit No. CV/816/25.
“The assessment of evidence belongs to the courts alone. The nature of your demand for evidence in this manner, at the instance of your client, simply indicates a broader misconception of what truly amounts to sexual harassment as prescribed in several global protocols,” she argued.
“It underscores a narrow perspective of the nature of this global menace. It is in my respectful opinion that this is another attempt by your client to play to the gallery and relegate this matter yet again to the backwaters.
“Should further particulars be required, they will be furnished in the ordinary course of disclosure, subject to the direction of the Honourable Courts. Any attempt to circumvent that regulated process risks subverting the very rule-of-law values you have championed throughout your distinguished career.”
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan said it is irreconcilable that Akpabio now mounts a media campaign, allegedly through Agbakoba, demanding that she furnish proof in a domain he would not allow to be addressed by the Senate due to his privileged position.
“The principle is elementary: a litigant may not approbate in the courts and reprobate in the press. The rule against parallel adjudication safeguards the integrity of judicial determination, preserves the fairness of proceedings, and secures the dignity of all arms of government,” she stressed.
On a social media post of 9th December 2023, in which she acknowledged the Senate President’s presence at a public event, and photographs taken at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Session in Geneva (24–25 March 2024) showing the customary civil interactions that associate with official representation, she argued that outward civility cannot be transmuted into an admission that no misconduct occurred, adding to do so trivializes a serious concern of sexual harassment, especially in a workplace using a dominant position.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan said she observed a studious restraint, acting upon legal advice and out of deference to the doctrine of lis pendens in refusing to respond to the purported letters written to her by Agbakoba on the issue relating to the sexual harassment allegation levelled against Akpabio.
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