Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has raised an alarm, claiming that Nigerian security officials are planning to arrest her upon her return to Nigeria.
She alleges that the move is in connection to her participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in New York on March 11, where she highlighted issues surrounding her suspension from the Senate and sexual harassment allegations against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
In a telephone interview with Premium Times on Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently in the United States, said, “I’m aware there are plans underway to have me arrested as soon as I arrive Abuja.” However, she refrained from naming which specific security agencies were involved in the alleged plan.
Recall that Nigeria’s internal and external intelligence agencies, including the State Security Service and the National Intelligence Agency, have launched an investigation into how Akpoti-Uduaghan attended the IPU meeting without official approval. Sources within the administration and security circles revealed that the agencies are looking into how she gained access to the event, who facilitated her trip and accreditation, and whether interest groups orchestrated her participation to embarrass the Nigerian government.
On March 11, Akpoti-Uduaghan attended the IPU meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where she discussed the circumstances surrounding her suspension from the Senate. She alleged that the suspension was politically motivated, aimed at silencing her for speaking out against misconduct in the Senate, and that she sought international intervention on the matter.
In response, IPU President, Tulia Ackson, stated that the parliamentary body would investigate the issue while also allowing the Nigerian Senate to present its side of the story.
However, Kafilat Ogbara, a Nigerian delegate to the IPU meeting and Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, contradicted Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims. Addressing journalists at the UN Secretariat a day after Akpoti-Uduaghan’s speech, Ogbara read a letter from Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, which stated that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was due to violations of Senate Standing Rules during plenary sessions, not because of her allegations against Akpabio.
In addition to the arrest claim, Akpoti-Uduaghan also alleged that after her speech at the IPU meeting, Senate President Akpabio sent three officials, led by the Chargé d’Affairs of the Nigerian Embassy in New York, to forcibly remove her from the United Nations premises. She claimed that she was only able to avoid being escorted out after being rescued by parliamentarians from other countries and security personnel.
Efforts to reach Senate President Akpabio for comment were unsuccessful. His spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, did not respond to calls or text messages and Senate Spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu could not be contacted as his phone was unavailable.
