Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has responded to legal expert and former NBA President Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) over her sexual harassment allegation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Agbakoba, in a letter dated April 14, 2025, had urged Senator Natasha to either retract her claim or provide substantial proof of the alleged incident, said to have occurred on December 8, 2023. However, in her official reply dated April 30, 2025, Senator Natasha stated she had not received any such correspondence, either by mail or courier, rejecting accusations of intentional silence.
“I place it on formal record that no such letters have ever been served upon me. The imputation of recalcitrance is therefore inoperative,” she said.
She attributed her silence to the principle of lis pendens, which discourages public commentary on active court matters, highlighting two ongoing cases: a ₦250 billion lawsuit filed by Akpabio’s wife, and her own legal challenge to her Senate suspension.
“While Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025 is unrelated to the sexual harassment allegations, Suit No. CV/816/2025 is directly related to those allegations and was instituted by your client’s spouse,” she noted.
Senator Natasha criticized Agbakoba’s attempt to shape public opinion while previously citing the sub judice rule to halt a Senate inquiry. “A litigant may not approbate in the courts and reprobate in the press,” she stated.
She also accused Akpabio of violating the principle of natural justice by presiding over the Senate session that led to her suspension. “Nemo judex in causa sua: no one ought to be judge in his own cause,” she said.
Addressing suggestions that her cordial past with Akpabio undermined her claim, she asserted that “civility should not be mistaken for consent or comfort,” especially in a workplace marked by power imbalances.
She concluded by reaffirming her February 28, 2025, complaint and legal filings, stressing that only the courts have the authority to adjudicate the matter. “A private legal practitioner, however distinguished, is not vested with adjudicatory authority,” she added, urging that future correspondence be routed through her legal team.
