Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, representing Senator Godswill Akpabio, demands Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan retract her sexual harassment allegation, citing timeline inconsistencies and public praise of Akpabio post-allegation

Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, legal counsel for Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has issued a second formal letter to suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, intensifying the call for her to retract what he terms a “clearly false and unsubstantiated” allegation of sexual harassment.

Also read: Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan sues colleague for £5 billion over defamation

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) expressed his disappointment that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has failed to address significant inconsistencies in her accusations, as previously highlighted in a letter dated April 14, 2025.

A central point of contention for Agbakoba is the timeline of events. He pointed out that while Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged the sexual harassment occurred on December 8, 2023, she publicly praised Senator Akpabio on social media the very next day, December 9, 2023.

Agbakoba noted that instead of clarifying this apparent contradiction, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly deleted the social media post, a move he stated raises further suspicion.

In the follow-up letter, dated April 22, 2025, and issued on behalf of Olisa Agbakoba Legal (AOL), Dr. Agbakoba wrote:

“You have failed to clarify your sexual harassment allegation on December 8, 2023, and your exaltation of Senator Akpabio on social media the next day. Deleting the post, instead of offering clarification, is troubling.”

Agbakoba also questioned the considerable delay in Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan bringing the allegation to the public, noting that her claims surfaced on February 28, 2025 – over 14 months after the alleged incident.

Furthermore, Agbakoba highlighted Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s continued public engagements with Senator Akpabio throughout 2024, including their joint participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union session in Geneva in March 2024. During this event, they were photographed together and featured in seemingly amicable social media posts.

“These interactions, portrayed in a friendly tone and posted online, severely undermine the credibility of your claims,” the letter asserted.

“Given your failure to clarify these inconsistencies, we now demand that you retract the sexual harassment allegations, which we maintain are baseless and without evidence.”