{"id":274843,"date":"2025-04-05T14:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T14:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/she-accused-the-senate-president-of-harassment-the-backlash-was-swift\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T14:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T14:01:10","slug":"she-accused-the-senate-president-of-harassment-the-backlash-was-swift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/she-accused-the-senate-president-of-harassment-the-backlash-was-swift\/","title":{"rendered":"She Accused the Senate President of Harassment. The Backlash Was Swift."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/02\/multimedia\/00nigeria-harrassment-1-ftlj\/00nigeria-harrassment-1-ftlj-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"She Accused the Senate President of Harassment. The Backlash Was Swift.\" title=\"She Accused the Senate President of Harassment. The Backlash Was Swift.\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Nigeria\u2019s third most powerful politician was accused of sexual harassment on national television this year, a fierce backlash ensued \u2014 against his accuser.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of four women in Nigeria\u2019s 109-seat Senate, was suspended for six months without pay in February. She said the suspension was punishment for speaking out against Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Nigerian Senate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Then, angry voters in her constituency in central Nigeria began campaigning to have her removed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The ordeal has highlighted what women in Nigeria say is the sexism faced by female politicians in their country, and the risks of speaking out in a nation where few women hold political power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nigeria is Africa\u2019s most populous nation and sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s second largest economy, but it has the lowest representation of women in Parliament on the continent. It ranks in the bottom five globally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Through a written response sent by a lawyer, Mr. Akpabio denied Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan\u2019s accusations, and he declined an interview request, citing continuing legal proceedings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s a first at that level in Nigeria,\u201d Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former Nigerian minister of education, said of the accusation against such a high-ranking official. \u201cBut it\u2019s a classic abuse of power, where a woman is denied the right to be heard out,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan, 45,<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>who was elected in 2023, said that Mr. Akpabio made sexual advances in December of that year when she and her husband visited Mr. Akpabio\u2019s home. Mr. Akpabio squeezed her hand and told her, \u201cI will make an opportunity for us to come here and have a good moment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan said that Mr. Akpabio later invited her to a hotel and made lewd remarks in the Senate building, including, \u201c\u2018You can enjoy a lot of benefits if you make me happy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In an interview with The New York Times, Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan said she kept rejecting the advances, but did not talk about them or file a legal complaint.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe moment you speak out on sexual harassment, you\u2019re guilty,\u201d she said. Throughout her two senatorial campaigns in 2018 and 2022, Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan faced <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/humanglemedia.com\/trolls-behind-online-onslaught-on-nigerian-politician-natasha-akpoti\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">repeated online harassment<\/a> and accusations that she was a prostitute. Such accusations are commonly leveled against women in Nigerian politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are made to bear it, to see it as part of life,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan said that last year, she began avoiding the Senate cafeteria and other areas of the building where she might run into Mr. Akpabio, just to escape his sexual advances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In February, Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan said that her seat had been moved to a remote corner of the Senate without her consent, and that she was not told why. She came out with her accusations against Mr. Akpabio on Nigerian television later that month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Days after she went public, the Senate\u2019s ethics committee suspended Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, accusing her of unruly behavior during a dispute over the new seating arrangement. It also dismissed a sexual harassment petition she filed against Mr. Akpabio, citing a rule that prohibits victims from filing their own complaints. (The petition must be filed by someone else on the victim\u2019s behalf.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since the suspension, Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan has received no public support from her three female peers. Mr. Akpabio\u2019s wife has filed a defamation lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWomen are part of the same patronage system as men are in Nigerian politics,\u201d said Ayomide Ladipo, a Nigerian analyst. \u201cSpeaking out against a powerful man with lots of resources and political clout makes you risk being blacklisted or victimized.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Akpabio, 62, is a close ally of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria and leader of the governing All Progressives Congress. Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan is a member of the opposition People\u2019s Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another female public official, Joy Nunieh, accused Mr. Akpabio of sexual harassment in 2020. Nigeria\u2019s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, an opponent of Mr. Akpabio, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/2025\/03\/atiku-accuses-akpabio-of-abusing-women-as-gov-criticizes-nass-over-emergency-rule-approval\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> he had a \u201chabit of abusing women.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Thousands of supporters rallied on Tuesday when Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan made an impromptu visit to her district in Kogi Central. But even in Kogi Central, nearly half of all registered voters signed a petition last week calling for her removal, just short of the 50 percent threshold needed to force her out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">No major political party has ever nominated a woman as a presidential candidate in Nigeria. The share of female lawmakers is under 10 percent, according to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/invictusafrica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Insights-copy.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Invictus Africa<\/a>, a nonprofit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Other economic powerhouses on the continent have greater representation of women in politics. In Kenya, a quarter of lawmakers are women. That rate reaches 40 percent in Senegal, and nearly 50 percent in South Africa. Rwanda has the world\u2019s highest rate of female lawmakers, at 61 percent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">All have implemented quota systems in some capacity. Nigeria has not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMen make you feel like sitting in the Senate is a privilege,\u201d Ms. Akpoti-Uduaghan said. \u201cI\u2019ve earned my seat. A hostile environment to women sets our democracy back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Pius Adeleye contributed reporting from Eket, Nigeria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/05\/world\/africa\/nigeria-sexual-harassment.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Nigeria\u2019s third most powerful politician was accused of sexual harassment on national television this year, a fierce backlash ensued \u2014 against his accuser. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of four women in Nigeria\u2019s 109-seat Senate, was suspended for six months without pay in February. She said the suspension was punishment for speaking out against Godswill Akpabio, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/02\/multimedia\/00nigeria-harrassment-1-ftlj\/00nigeria-harrassment-1-ftlj-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1220,460,13607,211822,3025,9778,194,137131,2627,2686,15501,138322,175509],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274843"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274845,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274843\/revisions\/274845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}