Hold Your Peace, Courts Will Determine My Case Against Akpabio – Natasha Tells Agbakoba

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan says only the Court of competent jurisdiction can determine her sexual harassment allegation against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

According to the Senator representing Kogi Central, those running commentaries on the merits or demerits of her suit file against Senator Akpabio should hold their peace for now and allow the courts do their job.

Her remarks come on the heels of recent public comments by legal luminary Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), urging her to retract the allegations and provide evidence that Akpabio sexually harassed her on December 8, 2023.

Agbakoba’s comments were conveyed in a letter dated April 14, 2025, but making reference to the issue in a public statement dated Wednesday. 30th April 2025, Senator Natasha denied receiving any letter from Agbakoba through post, courier, or personal delivery.

Clearly rejecting any suggestion of deliberate silence over the controversial issue, the embattled lawmaker said; “I place it on formal record that no such letters have ever been served upon me. The imputation of recalcitrance is therefore inoperative”.

Citing the legal doctrine of lis pendens—which discourages public commentary on matters already before the courts—as the reason for her initial silence, Senator Natasha said that two suits are currently pending. One, filed by Akpabio’s wife at the FCT High Court, seeking ₦250 billion in damages, while the other, filed by her (Natasha) at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging her suspension from the Senate.

She said; “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 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.

Further dismissing claims that her past cordial interactions with Senator Akpabio contradicted her complaint, Natasha said; “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”.

Also maintaining that Agbakoba has no constitutional authority to demand evidence outside judicial proceedings, the Kogi Lawmaker said; “A private legal practitioner, however distinguished, is not vested with adjudicatory authority under the Constitution or any statute of the Federal Republic”.

Senator Natasha said there is no backing down on her case and still stands firmly by her February 28, 2025 complaint and court filings. This is as she told Agbakoba to properly advise his client on the implications of presiding over matters in which he is personally implicated.

While explaining that “This letter is issued solely to correct the public record and to prevent a constructive admission being inferred from silence,” the Senator requested that all future correspondence should be directed through her legal representatives.