SEXUAL HARASSMENT DID HAPPEN: NATASHA EXPOSES AKPABIO, ACCUSES SENATE PRESIDENT OF CREATING TOXIC WORKPLACE
With her voice shaking but her eyes steady, Senator Natasha tells Nigerians what really goes on behind the red chambers of the Nigerian Senate.
Senator Natasha Senator Akpabio
In a bold and emotionally stirring interview that aired live on YouTube with renowned journalist Adeola Fayehun, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has laid bare the truth about her long standing sexual harassment allegation against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio. Speaking with striking clarity, the Senator from Kogi State dismissed all distractions and reaffirmed her claims, insisting without hesitation that “sexual harassment did happen… and it happened a number of times.”
Senator Natasha revealed that the harassment created a hostile environment within the National Assembly, to the point where she stopped using common spaces such as the cafeteria, choosing hunger over exposure to what she described as a toxic atmosphere. She stated that the Senate President often made remarks that left her uncomfortable, to the applause and laughter of bystanders, without any regard for her dignity. Her words were soaked in conviction, not the tone of a woman seeking pity or payment, but one seeking space to breathe and work.
She also exposed the failure of institutional redress, revealing that she was never called to present her case before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, and that even when a Presidential panel was set up earlier this year to look into the matter, she was contacted and ready to testify, but the Senate President allegedly pulled out of the process, abruptly shutting down what could have been the first step to justice.
Senator Natasha, who maintained an unshakable poise during the interview, insisted that her decision to speak out had nothing to do with financial settlement or political leverage. In her words, “There is pretty much nothing the Senate President will do for me that God has not already blessed me with. I didn’t speak up because I wanted money or settlement, I just needed a safe space to work.”
She described the Senate President as a man who could not take NO for an answer, explaining that the harassment she endured went beyond verbal comments. It became systemic, manifesting as isolation, professional obstruction, and malicious power play. She described how her attempts to lodge formal complaints were repeatedly ignored, and her evidence, she says, is intact and will be presented at the appropriate time before the appropriate body.
The Kogi Senator concluded by noting that sexual harassment is more common in Nigeria than people admit, and that many women carry their trauma silently, even into their graves. Her outcry is, according to her, not just for herself, but for countless Nigerian women whose voices have been stifled by shame, fear, or threats.
By: ILUO DePOET
Lawyer | Speaker | Author | Political Analyst | Pan-African