Olisa Agbakoba, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has demanded a retraction of what he described as “clearly false and unsubstantiated” sexual harassment allegations made by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Agbakoba revealed that a second letter had been issued to Akpoti-Uduaghan after she failed to respond to the contradictions raised in an earlier letter dated April 14, 2025.
Agbakoba, who is also legal counsel to Akpabio, said the senator’s failure to clarify the inconsistencies—particularly the timeline of her allegations—prompted the follow-up letter dated April 22, 2025.
“Recall that in our first letter to you, dated April 14, 2025, we requested that you clarify contradictions in your sexual harassment allegation against our client, Senator Godswill Akpabio. Of note is the contradiction as to timeline and dates,” he wrote in the latest correspondence signed under Olisa Agbakoba Legal (AOL).
“You have failed to clarify your sexual harassment allegation on December 8, 2023 and your exaltation of Senator Akpabio on your social media accounts (Instagram and X/Twitter) on December 9, 2023—the day after you alleged he sexually harassed you. Rather than clarify this contradiction, you deleted the social media post, which to us is extremely concerning.”
Agbakoba noted that regardless of public sentiment, the burden of proof remained on the accuser, and pointed out the delay in bringing the allegation forward.
“You claim that the sexual harassment occurred on December 8, 2023 but your allegation was not made until 28th February 2025. One year and 2 months after?” he queried.
He also cited several instances where Akpoti-Uduaghan was seen in close company with Akpabio after the alleged incident, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union session in Geneva in March 2024.
“Additionally, rather than take up this serious allegation that occurred on 8 December 2023, you were seen throughout 2024 at several legislative and non-legislative events (locally and internationally) with Senator Akpabio, your alleged harasser. For example, you were seen together at the Inter-Parliamentary Union session in Geneva on the 24th and 25th of March 2024. In fact, you took several selfies and group photos with him during these events. All these events were posted in warm tones by you on your social media platforms. Please see screenshot copies of your Facebook post(s) and other photos you took with Senator Akpabio. We find this contradictory and unbelievable.”
Agbakoba concluded by insisting on a retraction of the allegations, stating that the senator’s failure to address the inconsistencies only reinforced doubts about the credibility of her claims.
“In light of this and having also failed to clarify inconsistencies pointed in our first letter to you, we demand that you retract sexual harassment allegations against our client as they are clearly false and unsubstantiated,” he said.
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