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Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the embattled lawmaker representing Kogi Central District, has granted a tell-all interview, exposing alleged intimidation, sexual harassment and other bullying culture by the leadership of the 10th Nigerian Senate.
Akpoti-Uduaghan is currently serving a six-month suspension imposed on her by the Senate over alleged gross misconduct arising from the seating arrangement drama in the upper legislative chamber.
In February, the lawmaker briefly disrupted plenary when she strongly protested the changing of her seat. The situation degenerated into a spat between her and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who subsequently referred her to the Ethics Committee for possible disciplinary action.
However, Senator Natasha later went on national television, accusing Akpabio of making repeated sexual advances at her, adding that her ordeal in the Senate started after she rejected those advances.
She proceeded to submit a sexual harassment petition against the number three citizen, but the Senate suspended her afterwards, citing her conduct during the seating arrangement drama.
The Kogi lawmaker has refused to accept the punitive measure against her, insisting that it was a plot to silence her and shield the Senate President from scrutiny.
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Senator Natasha bares her mind during a BBC interview
Though she has taken the matter to the United Nations Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Akpoti-Uduaghan is not relenting in her efforts to share her experience in the Nigerian Senate, particularly her run-in with Akpabio.
In a trending BBC interview, she opened up on how the Senate has allegedly normalised harassment of female lawmakers, and the targeted punishment against anyone who dares to go against the entrenched culture of pandering to the dictates of the Senate President and the House leadership.
She also expressed concern that the Senate suspension has exposed her to safety threats, with her having to always look over her shoulder in fear of being attacked or killed.
Below are seven takeaways from Senator Natasha's BBC interview
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The genesis of Akpabio's alleged sexual harassment
The Kogi lawmaker recalled how the Senate President allegedly started making suggestive sexual advances at her.
"It started in year 2023 on the 8th of December. We were at his country home, he was taking me round his house. My husband was walking behind us. Held my hand and we got to this particular room when he noticed my husband was a few steps away. He then squeezed my hand in a very suggestive way," she recalled.
Akpoti-Uduaghan also added that Akpabio told her, "'I will make an opportunity for us to come here and have a good moment, you know, along that line. And then I just took my hands off and looked back, I saw my husband was near us and my husband looked at me and seems as if he heard some part of that but he wasn't sure but he looked at him as well and then the senate president sensing the awkward moment now said, 'Oh! There is a chapel over there as well. Come, let me show you the chapel.'"
Indecent sexual references in front of lawmakers
The suspended lawmaker also claimed that the Senate President repeated the suggestive sexual remarks in the presence of some lawmakers at the Senate.
"There was a time I forgot to wear my ring. I rushed to work forgetting to wear my ring. I know there are about five senators there. He went, 'Oh, Natasha you're not wearing your ring, is this an invitation to treat.'
"And then, there was another time he made a statement like, 'Natasha, your husband is really enjoying. It looks like you'll be able to make good movement with your waist. He makes such sexist statements and then they all laugh," she narrated.
She added that the other lawmakers didn't see the inappropriateness in the Senate President's remarks and chose to laugh them off instead.
“'In the senate, we are all men. She should be used to this,’" she quoted the unnamed witnesses as saying.
Weaponising suspension as a tool to silence her
Natasha reiterated that her alleged misconduct could have been overlooked, but the Senate chose to punish her to silence her from exposing Akpabio's alleged sexual advances.
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“When they say my suspension was a result of gross misconduct, that's not true. We've seen senators shout, scream, and use [insulting] words, fight, and tear each other's clothes, but they were not suspended. So, I believe also again that I'm being victimised.
"They said I had no right to sign the petition myself. I'm not supposed to sign my petition because a senator is receiving petitions from her or his constituents. But here, first time in the history of Nigeria, a senator is laying a sexual harassment petition seeking justice. When I submitted the petition on the 5th of March 2025, I was suspended the next day from the Nigerian senate. My suspension is a means of silencing me," she claimed.
The Nigerian Senate operates like a cult
The lawmaker also said the red chamber operates like a cult, where you either ingratiate yourself with the leadership or risk being silenced and persecuted.
"The Nigerian senate, it operates like a cult. Even the opposition have been silenced. You wonder why the Nigerian senate not as vibrant as that of South Africa or Kenya. I mean there are other parliaments we wee.
"There is this culture of fear. Fear of the institution. Fear of the leadership. Fear of the Senate President. I mean, if you confront the senate president or if you express contrary views, you risk a chance of being stripped your privileges. You will not speak. If you're a member of certain committees like what happened to me, you'll be removed," she stated.
Impacts of intimidation and victim shaming
She also shared what it has been like to carry the weight of being intimidated and shamed for daring to speak up.
"People don't understand what it means to carry this. Maybe we don't talk about it enough in Nigeria. Maybe in Africa.
"I just wanted a place I would just work. I thought the worst was over, but I guess for a woman, it's never really over. Right? I should be seen as a colleague, a senator. I should be given my due respect. My due, my right in that space.
"But to have to be faced with that, I think it's wrong. But I'm glad no matter what, I have the courage to speak up and I believe what I have done will accord more women the courage to speak up," she said with teary eyes.
Concerns over safety
Natasha also said she now fears for her life because the suspension has stripped her of security protection, making her vulnerable to attacks.
"Of course I am. And one of the conditions attached to my suspension is withdrawing my security. If I'm going grocery shopping, if I'm taking my kids on a walk-- I have a two-year-old-- would I be killed? Would I be attacked? I have this just run through my head immediately."
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Solidarity from far and wide
She disclosed that she has decided to focus on the positive reactions and support from the media over the matter, expressing appreciation to Nigerians at home and abroad and the international community for standing by her.
"I focus on the positive statements and remarks that have come from the media. I appreciate the support I've gotten from Nigerians within and the Diaspora and even the international communities. I have gotten on daily basis calls from fellow parliamentarians in Africa, women connecting with me and telling me they are experiencing the same thing in their parliament even as MP but they can't speak up and they say Natasha, do this for us," she concluded.