Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has fired back at Olisa Agbakoba over his recent demand for her to retract her sexual harassment allegations against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Agbakoba is the lawyer to Senator Akpabio and had recently written to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to provide clarifications on the claims against Akpabio.
In her response, the Kogi Central senator said she will not substantiate her claims in the media but only in court.
She explained that her response was compelled by Agbakoba’s televised remarks on April 15 and 29, in which he alleged that she had received but ignored two letters dated April 14 and 22, demanding a retraction of her sexual harassment complaint against Senate President Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan categorically denied receiving any such letters, stating they were never delivered to her by post, courier, or in person.
She stated that she had maintained silence out of respect to the courts.
She criticized what she described as a “coordinated media campaign” by Akpabio’s legal team, accusing them of hypocrisy for invoking the subjudice rule to block a Senate inquiry, while now engaging in public commentary on the same matter.
Akpoti-Uduaghan maintained that no party should make extrajudicial statements while litigation is ongoing, emphasizing that it is improper for a litigant to rely on the courts while simultaneously waging a media campaign.
Reaffirming her earlier position, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan declared that she stands by her sexual harassment complaint filed on February 28, and will seek full legal redress both within Nigeria and internationally.
She insisted that her response to Agbakoba was issued solely to correct the public record and should not be construed as a submission to any forum outside the courts already seized of the matter.
