Sexual Harassment: Natasha writes Agbakoba, rules out withdrawal of suits against Akpabio

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, 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 sexual harassment allegation leveled against Akpabio.

The letter also explained that she did not receive any previous letter from Olisa Agbakoba.

According to her, “Two parallel suits, one initiated by the spouse of the Senate President, the other initiated by me, are pending before courts of competent jurisdiction:Suit No. CV/816/25 (Unoma Godswill Akpabio v. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, High Court of the FCT) in which ₦250 billion damages and injunctive reliefs are sought on allegations of defamation and sexual harassment; and Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025 (Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan v. Clerk of the National Assembly & Ors, Federal High Court, Abuja) challenging, inter alia, my referral to the committee on ethics, privileges and public petitions on grounds of misconduct without affording me a fair hearing culminating into my purported suspension from the Senate for a period of 6 months, the cognate withdrawal of my remuneration, security detail and parliamentary privileges.

“While Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025 is unrelated to the sexual harassment allegations I made against the President of the Senate, Suit No. CV/816/2025 is directly related to the allegations of sexual harassment instituted by Your Client’s spouse, on which issues have been joined. In fidelity to the doctrine of lis pendens and a court’s direction, my silence was occasioned. Given that both suits are currently before courts of competent jurisdiction, it is improper for any party to make extrajudicial comments.”

Recall that Agbakoba, wrote a second letter to Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, demanding a retraction of what he described as her “clearly false and unsubstantiated” sexual harassment allegations against the Senate President.

Agbakoba at a press conference held in Lagos on Tuesday stated that the latest letter became necessary, owing to the fact that the embattled Senator had failed to clarify the significant contradictions in her allegations against Akpabio, as demanded in his first letter, dated April 14, 2025.

He said, instead of clarifying the contradictions in her allegation that Akpabio sexually harassed her on December 8, 2023, and her exaltation of her alleged harasser on her social media accounts on December 9, 2023; Natasha deleted her social media post.

In a letter he signed for Olisa Agbakoba Legal (AOL), dated April 22, 2025, and made available to journalists, the former NBA President said, “Recall that in our first letter to you, dated April 14, 2025, we requested that you clarify contradictions in your sexual harassment allegation against our client, Senator Godswill Akpabio. Of note is the contradiction as to timeline and dates.

“You have failed to clarify your sexual harassment allegation on December 8, 2023 and your exaltation of Senator Akpabio on your social media accounts (Instagram and X/Twitter) on December 9, 2023 – the day after you alleged he sexually harassed you.

“Rather than clarify this contradiction, you deleted the social media post, which to us is extremely concerning.”