National
Akpabio Asked Me To Excite And Please Him, Says Natasha Akpoti
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, says she is paying for rejecting Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s sexual advances.
She added that she had to summon the courage to speak up and damn the consequences.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was speaking in an interview with Sky News.
She was suspended from the senate on March 6 for “gross misconduct” following her seating arrangement altercation with Akpabio.
The lawmaker said she believes her suspension was illegal, unjust and a way of silencing her.
She also baulked at the senate’s position that she was not suspended over the sexual harassment claim.
“They did mention that I was suspended on account of gross misconduct but can they provide exactly what the gross misconduct was that amounted to six months suspension? The day after I submitted a petition?” she asked.
“I was suspended because of that petition, not because of any gross misconduct.
“I was only told to move my seat and I refused because I deserve to be notified, I deserve to be given a chance to explain why I should retain my seat.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that her male colleagues fight, cuss and throw chairs at each other in the chamber all the time, but are never suspended for misconduct.
“Why? Because they are men? You know, there’s this culture of silence, harassment and fear, intimidation that is intertwined with our culture where a woman is supposed to sit pretty, to be seen only and not heard,” she said.
The senator said she was deprived of her rights as a lawmaker for not yielding to Akpabio’s advances.
“I found the courage to speak up. Yes, the breaking point was moving me from that seat. Silently, I have had to endure a whole lot,” she said.
“Things got difficult for me. I was always complaining.
“I’ll have a motion to pass and he’ll not let me. My husband would walk to him because they are friends and say ‘my wife has a very important bill, her constituency need this, why don’t you give her a chance to speak?’ And he’ll say ‘next time’.
“Each time I walk to him alone, he’ll tell me, ‘you know what, right here, I’m the chief presiding officer of the national assembly, so you have to please me, make me happy to get these privileges’.
“That happened several times and because I refused, it developed into malice.”
Akpabio has denied sexually harassing Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The Concerned Christian Youth Forum has strongly condemned Abuja-based pastor Festus Alilu for his recent criticism of Korede Komaiya, the lead pastor of Master’s Place International, Delta State, and a protégé of Bishop David Oyedepo.
In a statement issued on Friday, the forum’s convener, James Paul Adama, described Alilu’s remarks in a Facebook video as “unprovoked and unwarranted.”
“We consider this attack uncalled for, and we extend our sincere apologies to Pastor Komaiya on behalf of our community,” Adama stated.
He clarified that investigations revealed that Alilu’s reported arrest was not directly ordered by Komaiya but rather instigated by some of his followers.
“This highlights the importance of verifying facts before drawing conclusions or making accusations,” Adama added.
The forum expressed its intention to mediate in the dispute, urging a peaceful resolution.
“We want to make it clear that attacks on the Christian faith and its leaders will no longer be tolerated. We are prepared to take all necessary steps to defend Christianity and its leaders in Nigeria,” the statement read.
The group further called for mutual respect among religious communities, warning against inflammatory remarks.
“We encourage everyone to respect the Christian faith and refrain from making derogatory comments or attacks on any religion. Such behaviour has no place in our society and must stop immediately.”
The Concerned Christian Youth Forum reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that Christian leaders receive the dignity and respect they deserve.
Kenyan Senator Crystal Asige has called on Nigeria to amend its constitution to ensure parliamentary representation for people with disabilities (PWDs), arguing that only those who experience such challenges firsthand can effectively advocate for their rights.
Speaking ahead of Haske Satumari Foundation Annual Colloquium 2025 taking place this Saturday, Asige emphasised the importance of inclusive governance.
The event, is scheduled to be held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, the Senator honoured philanthropist Kudla Satumari Haske for his contributions to social development.
With the theme, “Promoting Social Change and Development through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice”, the colloquium would be chaired by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, with Asige delivering the keynote address.
Other notable speakers included Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, BudgIT CEO Oluseun Onigbinde, and Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who would served as the chief host.
Asige, who holds one of Kenya’s designated Senate seats for PWDs, argued that representation in legislative bodies is crucial for meaningful advocacy.
“In the past, we have had non-disabled parliamentarians speaking on our issues, trying to legislate for us, but they are not persons with disabilities,” she said.
“I could not stand here and say I am going to solve the problems of men in Africa—I am not a man. The person wearing the shoe should be the one feeling the pain.”
Citing statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Asige highlighted that approximately 15 percent of any country’s population lives with disabilities.
In Nigeria, with an estimated 230 million people, this equates to over 15 million individuals are people with disabilities whose voices are not heard in the parliament.
“If 15 million people with disabilities have the right to vote, shouldn’t they also have representation in Parliament? That is a significant voting bloc,” she said.
She explained that Kenya’s constitution mandates the inclusion of both male and female representatives for PWDs in the Senate, staying that Nigeria can also have such representation if the constitution is amended.
“My counterpart, from the ruling party, is a gentleman with clubfoot. This is something every parliament and jurisdiction should move towards,” she said.
Asige urged Nigerian lawmakers to consider constitutional amendments or alternative legislative measures to improve disability representation.
“In Kenya, constitutional amendments require a referendum. However, we have subsidiary laws such as the Persons with Disabilities Bill, which I am currently sponsoring. Perhaps Nigeria could explore similar reforms through its own disability or political party laws,” she suggested.
She also emphasised the political and economic implications of exclusion, arguing that ignoring the disability community means leaving millions of votes on the table.
“You cannot ignore such a huge minority group. Politicians who focus on this constituency stand to gain significantly,” she added.
Addressing issues of gender equity, Asige expressed support for Nigerian Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who has alleged sexual harassment.
“I think more people should stand behind her, especially because there is merit to the case she has presented,” Asige said.
“The fight for greater political space and equity, despite the harassment faced by women like Senator Natasha, must continue.”
Beyond governance, Asige underscored the economic importance of diversity and inclusion.
“Exclusion costs Africa billions. Statistics show that the Global South loses up to 10 percent of its annual GDP due to lack of inclusion,” she stated.
“This affects sectors like transport, healthcare, education, and employment. The more non-inclusive we are, the more we lose,” she added.
A drama played out at the federal high court in Lagos on Thursday after a suspect granted bail was rearrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court granted N50 bail to Audu Friday, a cybercrime suspect facing charges preferred by the commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency arraigned Friday on Monday alongside two Chinese nationals and a company on a 12-count cybercrime charge.
The other defendants are Huang Haoyu, An Hongxu, and Gentting International Ltd.
They all entered a plea of not guilty.
According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly conspired to commit the offences with Dualiang Pan, who is now at large.
Bilikisu Buhari, the EFCC counsel, told the court on Monday that the defendants allegedly willfully assessed computer systems and organised to destabilise Nigeria’s economic structure.
She also said that the defendants allegedly recruited some Nigerian youths to falsely represent themselves as persons of foreign nationalities.
The EFCC counsel added that they allegedly recruited one Chukwuemeka Okeke to retain $1.2 million in his crypto wallet, which they ought to know forms part of fraudulent activities.
She said the defendants also kept Alhassan Garba and Ifesinaci Jacobs as recruits under them to retain $1.3 million in their crypto wallet.
They were also alleged to have retained in the Union Bank account of Gentting International Ltd. the sum of N3.4 billion, which also forms part of the proceeds of their fraudulent activities.
The prosecutor alleged that the suspects transferred, among others, N106 million and N913 million to Dualiang’s UBA account, which was also the proceeds of their fraudulent activities.
She told the court that all the transfers were made from Gentting Ltd.
Besides, the defendants were said to have illegally negotiated a foreign exchange transaction with Alhassan Garba to the dollar equivalent of N1.1 billion, N962 million, as well as other sums.
EFCC alleged that they engaged in this transaction without going through the official foreign exchange market authorised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The commission said the offences contravened the provisions of section 29(2) of the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2004, and sections 18 and 27 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition) Act, 2015, as well as sections 18(2)(d) and 21(c) of the Money Laundering Act, 2021.
At the court session on Thursday, Clement Onwuenwunor, counsel to Friday, prayed the court to grant his client bail in liberal terms.
Emeka Opoko, the counsel to the first defendant, also asked the court to grant his client bail.
However, Buhari opposed the bail application.
“We have filed a counter affidavit on the 19th of March praying your lordship should deny bail because these set of defendants are the major kingpins in the scheme of the fraud,” she said.
She said the defendants are a flight risk.
“I urged the court to refuse bail and other accelerated trial,” the prosecution lawyer said.
In a ruling, Daniel Osiagor, the presiding judge, granted bail to Friday in the sum of N50 million and two sureties, who must be at the directorate level in the civil service.
But the court refused the first defendant’s bail and ordered his remand in Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
The third defendant, who has not filed bail, was also remanded in prison custody.
Osiagor adjourned the trial in the case to May 2.
However, the drama happened shortly after the court proceeding as EFCC operatives picked up Friday and bundled him into the commission’s bus outside the court premises.