Trending 
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has filed a N200 billion defamation lawsuit against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, regarding accusations of sexual harassment he faced.
Akpabio filed the lawsuit at the High Court in Abuja.
In a Facebook update on Friday, Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed satisfaction that the Senate President opted for legal action, noting that she had previously been denied the chance to substantiate her claims, adding that the legal action now gives her the long-awaited opportunity to present evidence of alleged sexual harassment.
“Now, I finally have the chance to prove how I was sexually harassed and how my refusal to give in to his demands unleashed a series of unprovoked and unprecedented attacks on my person,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan said she welcomed the development, noting that the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges had previously declined to grant her an audience on the matter. According to her, the committee justified its refusal because Akpabio’s wife had already filed a defamation case against her, meaning the issue was “sub judice.”
She explained that Senate rules prevented her from initiating court action at the time, as she was required to present her complaint first to the same Ethics Committee — the body that had earlier recommended her controversial suspension.
