Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has responded to recent public comments made by legal luminary Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) regarding her sexual harassment allegation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Agbakoba, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), had in a letter dated April 14, 2025, demanded that Senator Natasha retract her allegations and provide evidence that Akpabio sexually harassed her on December 8, 2023.
In her response dated April 30, Natasha stated that she had not received any letter from Agbakoba through post, courier, or personal delivery, and therefore rejected any suggestion of deliberate 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 cited the legal doctrine of lis pendens—which discourages public commentary on matters already before the courts—as the reason for her initial silence, noting that two suits are currently pending. One, filed by Akpabio’s wife at the FCT High Court, seeks ₦250 billion in damages, while the other, filed by Natasha at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenges her suspension from the Senate.
“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.
She described Agbakoba’s actions as improper and contradictory, accusing him of attempting to influence public opinion while previously invoking the sub judice rule to halt a Senate probe into the matter.
“A litigant may not approbate in the courts and reprobate in the press,” she said.
Natasha further accused Akpabio of presiding over his own case when she was suspended from the Senate for six months, thereby violating the principle of natural justice.
“Nemo judex in causa sua: no one ought to be judge in his own cause,” she said.
She also dismissed claims that her past cordial interactions with Akpabio contradicted her complaint, stating that “civility should not be mistaken for consent or comfort.”
“To do so trivialises a serious concern of sexual harassment, especially in a workplace where there is a dominant power dynamic,” she added.
Natasha asserted that Agbakoba had no constitutional authority to demand evidence outside judicial proceedings.
“A private legal practitioner, however distinguished, is not vested with adjudicatory authority under the Constitution or any statute of the Federal Republic,” she wrote.
She concluded by standing firmly by her February 28, 2025, complaint and her court filings, urging Agbakoba to properly advise his client on the implications of presiding over matters in which he is personally implicated.
“This letter is issued solely to correct the public record and to prevent a constructive admission being inferred from silence,” she stated.
She requested that all future correspondence be directed through her legal representatives.
