ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigerian Senate has suspended Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan after she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual assault.
The suspension, announced on Thursday, includes a six-month ban from her office and the withdrawal of her allowances and security.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only four women in the 109-seat Senate, made the allegation last week.
However, the Senate’s ethics committee rejected the accusation, citing procedural rule violations.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was barred from speaking in the chamber and escorted out by the sergeant-at-arms.
In response, Akpoti-Uduaghan condemned the action, vowing that the injustice would not be tolerated. “This injustice will not be sustained,” she said after being removed from the chamber.
Akpabio has denied any wrongdoing in the case, and no charges have been brought against him.
The suspension comes at a time when women’s representation in Nigeria’s parliament has reached an all-time low since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999. The Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, an organization focused on democratic governance in Nigeria, has highlighted the drop in female representation.
This is not the first time a sexual assault allegation has surfaced in Nigeria’s legislature.
In 2016, Sen. Dino Melaye was accused of threatening to sexually assault Sen. Remi Tinubu, though he was never charged.
Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Majority Leader, suggested that Akpoti-Uduaghan should use her suspension as an opportunity to “learn the rules of the Senate.”
He questioned her motives, asking, “What will she gain if she tries to pull the Senate President down?”
Women’s rights advocates have criticized the ethics committee’s handling of the case, with Chioma Agwuegbo, executive director of TechHerNG, accusing the committee of bias.
“The ethics committee to which her petition was referred has shown that it is not fit for purpose,” Agwuegbo said.
In addition to the suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against Akpabio, seeking N100 billion ($64,000) in damages. She has not yet commented on the latest developments.
