[OPINION] And now to the petition proper…

With Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi central) suspended by the senate for “misconduct” and “refusal to comply with the seating arrangement” in the red chamber, may we now carefully proceed to the substance of her allegation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio? We need not be distracted from the serious allegation against the nation’s No 3 citizen. From what I have seen so far, it is quite obvious that the Nigerian society does not yet take sexual harassment allegations seriously. We still appear to be living in an age when those who allege sexual harassment are subjected to ridicule and reproach. I propose that we have a rethink over this cynical attitude.

But contrary to what you might have been reading, Akpoti-Uduaghan was not suspended for making a sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio. That is why it is dangerous to take your cue from social media. Someone even commented: “How can Akpabio preside over his own case?” Such profound ignorance could be misleading and contagious — this was obvious in the subsequent comments and positions canvassed by prominent opinion leaders. No, Akpoti-Uduaghan was not suspended for making the allegation. She was suspended for her conduct at the senate plenary on February 20, 2025 when she relentlessly tongue-lashed Akpabio over the new seating arrangement.

When I watched the video, I knew she was going to be suspended. Anywhere in the world (and I stand to be challenged on this), as soon as the person with the gavel bangs it to call you to order, you just have to shut up, otherwise there will be consequences. It is a parliamentary practice dating back to centuries. In a court of law, as soon as the judge calls you to order with the gavel, you have to obey. I did not need any special skills to predict that Akpoti-Uduaghan would be suspended. Nonetheless, there is something about the national assembly leadership that views dissent as mutiny. The lawmakers behave like a close-knit confraternity: a dissenter is sent out — into the cold.

There is a publicly known sequence of events culminating in Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension. On February 20, she — on full volume — told off the senate president for moving her seat. Senator Mohammed Monguno, the chief whip, said it was to accommodate senators who recently defected from the PDP to the ruling APC. He read out the relevant rules. Akpoti-Uduaghan sprang to her feet to talk, but Akpabio refused to recognise her. He ordered that she be ejected from the chamber as she kept talking. Her microphone was muted but she continued to talk. The infraction was not that she objected (people often object) but because she refused to be moved and kept berating Akpabio.

Days after the heated confrontation with Akpabio, Akpoti-Uduaghan said her seat was changed to silence her. “Changing my seat was just a chance of silencing or alienating me from being seen. Sitting position is important. The nearer you sit… positions you near the camera and gives you an added advantage to be called upon to contribute to debates,” she told a radio station based in Abuja. “Ordinarily, I’m already sitting at the very back. But then, I was now moved suddenly without any notice. Without any information, my seat was moved to the far corner, a part where the cameras don’t capture.” This sequence of events was what was televised and known to the general public.

However, on February 28, Akpoti-Uduaghan dropped the nuclear bomb on ARISE TV. “Mine is the case of a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him,” she said, before going into details. “It all started on 8th December, 2023, which was a day before his birthday and mine — we are birthday mates. We all moved to his house in Uyo at about 8pm. He held my hands and he said he wanted to show me round his house. My husband was walking behind us, just the three of us. We were walking around from room to room. He showed me the beautiful interior. I noticed that he hastened his pace while still holding my hand and my husband was behind on his phone.”

She alleged that it was at this point that Akpabio made the indecent proposal. “He got to this particular sitting room and he said ‘do you like my house’. I said, of course sir. He said ‘now that you are a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come and spend quality moment here. You will enjoy it’. At that point, I just pulled away… that I don’t understand what he meant.” Akpoti-Uduaghan also alleged that when she met Akpabio at his office to ask why he was repeatedly stepping down her motions, the senate president told her she could enjoy a whole lot if “I just take care of him”. Now, these are grievous allegations that should not be conflated or confused with seating arrangement.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension and the withdrawal of the incredibly sumptuous privileges top Nigerian government officials enjoy would not be the first in our history, so I am ready to live with that. Many senators and reps have been suspended in the past and more will be suspended in the future. Even if she is suspended forever (as long as it is legal), I am ready to stomach it. From all indications, they were chummy, so something went wrong and I suspect half the story has not been told yet. “Her husband is our friend,” senate leaders keep saying, even letting out a state secret that he was asked to nominate someone for a position — a privilege usually reserved for the gods.

What I cannot accept — and, I would suggest, Nigerians should vehemently reject — is the trivialisation of sexual harassment allegations. People are lining up to defend Akpabio one after the other. His wife took the extraordinary step of filing a defamation suit against Akpoti-Uduaghan. Have you noticed that not a single senator, male or female, has spoken in favour of Akpoti-Uduaghan? Is it because no one wants to lose out of the senate “ogbono” soup in this Tinubu economy? Or are there other reasons we need to know? Many social media warriors are tearing Akpoti-Uduaghan to pieces (and some are well paid for the hatchet job) but her supporters are putting up a great fight as well.

My real concern is the allegation of sexual harassment. This must be fully probed. Her petition was first dismissed out of hand over procedural lapses. She has re-presented it. The senate must be seen to do a diligent job of investigating the allegation. It is a sacred duty they owe not only to themselves but also to Nigerians. I know many things are wrong with our country (for which Nigeria has been written off as “finished” by many people). Still, we should not accept that this is the best we can be. No, Nigeria can be far better than this and it is matters of this nature that can benchmark our place in the comity of civilised nations. No attempt should be made to sweep these grave allegations away.

By the way, I am not suggesting that Akpabio sexually harassed her. I cannot in all conscience conclude that the allegation is true or false. It could even be a misunderstanding on both sides — perhaps how Akpoti-Uduaghan felt is different from what Akpabio meant, and vice-versa. I don’t know. I can’t say. I am ready to give both parties the benefit of the doubt. That is why the allegation should be thoroughly investigated. We must resist any attempt to sweep it under the carpet. We must reject any attempt to dismiss it based on technicalities. We must ignore every attempt to downplay the saga by referring to the past conducts of both senators. Every case is unique.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation may be, certain things need to be established going forward. Nations use events like this to reform their systems. For one, the national assembly must come up with a robust sexual harassment policy. The world is changing (whether we like it or not). There are certain expressions that we have to avoid or withdraw if considered inappropriate. In fact, the policy must be universally applicable across Nigerian institutions and offices. Nigeria is not an island. You may get away with an inappropriate comment in Abuja but get punished in Aberdeen. By the way, I do not suggest that Akpabio is guilty but it is quite important to put down the marker.

Without prejudice to the outcome of the investigation of this saga, we may need to update provisions on sexual harassment in the code of conduct for public officials. This should include punishments for making false claims: we should not take it for granted that everyone who alleges harassment is telling the truth. There should be safeguards so that justice is not miscarried. Our laws must also institute independent mechanism for probing and punishing sexual harassment and abuse of office. The senators have not behaved in a way that will make the public trust them to do justice to this allegation. I have only seen key senators take turns to divert attention from the issue at hand.

Outside the sexual harassment allegation, I think the senate (and the house of reps) should improve its broadcast system. Akpoti-Uduaghan complained that those sitting at the back are at a disadvantage when it comes to being recognised to talk. This sounds trivial, but it is still a point to note. The cameras should be positioned in a way that every senator can be well captured. No senator should be gravely disadvantaged. This looks tiny, but it can address a problem. It may even make some senators stay awake during plenary. However, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s complaint that some of her motions are stepped down or not listed is neither here nor there — every senator experiences that.

Finally (trust me to not let this go without a comment), do you notice that in this crisis, the senators are of one accord? No Hausa, no Fulani, no Yoruba, no Igbo, no southerner, no northerner, no Christian, no Muslim, no male, no female, no APC, no PDP, no Labour Party. The same thing happened when they all got the latest SUVs in 2023. This has reinforced my belief, or theory, that Nigeria is fundamentally divided into two: the elite and the rest of us. It is lowly Nigerians that abuse and kill each other over religion and region. The elite play sectional sentiments only when their interests are threatened. Otherwise, they are a fraternity. May we understand this truth someday.

Culled from The Cable