Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Dr. Olisa Agbakoba has once again called on Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to take back her claims of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Agbakoba chastised the senator for not addressing obvious inconsistencies in her statements, especially with regard to the chronology of events and her public behavior after the purported incident.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akpabio is being represented in the case by Agbakoba’s legal practice, Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL).
According to Naija News, Agbakoba demanded in a previous letter dated April 14 that the senator from Kogi Central provide verifiable evidence to back up her claims of sexual impropriety by the Senate President.
The charge ultimately resulted in Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension from the Senate after causing a great deal of controversy.
Agbakoba said during a news conference in Lagos on Tuesday that the senator’s failure to resolve the inconsistencies in her earlier claims necessitated the second letter.
He noted that Akpoti-Uduaghan had merely deleted the disputed tweets rather than addressing the issues expressed about the discrepancies, particularly with regard to the date she claimed to have been harassed and her subsequent public acclaim of Akpabio on social media.
The legal expert remarked, “Remember that we asked for clarity on the inconsistencies in your complaint against our client, Akpabio, in our initial correspondence with you.
Of note is the contradiction as to timeline and dates. You have failed to clarify your sexual harassment allegation on Dec. 8, 2023 and your exaltation of Akpabio on your social media accounts (Instagram and X/Twitter) on Dec. 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.”
Agbakoba went on to stress that the burden of proof remains on the accuser and questioned why the senator took over a year to go public with her claim.
“You claim that the sexual harassment occurred on Dec. 8, 2023 but your allegation was not made until Feb. 28 2025. One year and 2 months after?
“Additionally, rather than take up this serious allegation that occurred on Dec.8, 2023, you were seen throughout 2024 at several legislative and non-legislative events (locally and internationally) with Akpabio, your alleged harasser.
“For example, you were seen together at the Inter-Parliamentary Union session in Geneva on March 24 and March 25 2024. In fact, you took several selfies and group photos with him during these events.
“You shared all of these incidents on your social media channels in a friendly manner. Please find screenshots of the other pictures you took with Akpabio and your Facebook post or posts. This seems implausible and contradictory to us.
We demand that you revoke the sexual harassment claims against our client because they are obviously untrue and unsupported, especially in light of this and because you haven’t addressed the contradictions mentioned in our initial correspondence with you, Agbakoba said.
About The Author
