Akpoti v Akpabio and the burden of sexual allegations in public institutions

The red chamber of the National Assembly has been seeing red over the last few weeks following the headbutting between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. What started as a dispute over seating arrangements has escalated into a full-blown nightclub-style fracas (pun intended) over allegations of sexual harassment that has got all the […]

The red chamber of the National Assembly has been seeing red over the last few weeks following the headbutting between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

What started as a dispute over seating arrangements has escalated into a full-blown nightclub-style fracas (pun intended) over allegations of sexual harassment that has got all the senators excited—not in a good way. Interviews have been granted, strong statements have been made and issued, and name-calling and allegations have been lobbed from the Senate chamber, TV and radio studios, and social media. It has been a garrulous display of the quality of minds in the Senate and our approach to handling sensitive issues in this country.

The controversy is both personal and professional, played out on the national scene, and consequently, some of the allegations and statements that have arisen from the fallout have become deeply personal. Senator Akpoti’s allegation of sexual harassment by the Senate President, first aired not in the Senate chamber but on national TV, carries a deeply personal undertone. It was personal to her, but of interest to us, especially because of the public office she holds and the insinuation that Akpabio’s alleged lecherous designs towards her, and her refusal to accede to them, have hindered her ability to discharge her duties. She alleged that the Senate President had repeatedly blocked her motion on the Ajaokuta Steel complex, which is a vital national project. If that is true, we can all see the wider implications of these personal choices. Imagine if the Ajaokuta project is delayed for another generation because one person refuses to be compelled to have sex with another.

Countries and kingdoms have risen and fallen over one person’s fulfilment of their sexual desire, or lack thereof. Most recently, evidence suggests that the bizarre sexual fantasies of a certain Jerry Falwell, involving his wife and a completely random person, played a significant role in the emergence of Donald Trump as a serious presidential candidate in 2016.

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These random hookups have the potential to shape a nation’s destiny and should be taken seriously. Rather than dismiss Senator Akpoti’s claims, it would be prudent to investigate them without prejudice.

However, because the allegations are also personal, the personal history between the parties has emerged. No one brought this more to light than Mrs Akpabio, whose name, as far as I know, was not mentioned in the allegation by Senator Akpoti, yet she decided to stand in defence of her husband and sue Senator Akpoti in return. The interview in which she called out Sen. Akpoti was rather strange.

It is common, especially in a political setting, for a woman to stand by her man in cases of sexual misconduct—we all remember Hillary Clinton’s stoic stance during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In this case, however, Mrs Akpabio could not have been with her husband all the time while he was hosting guests on the night Sen. Akpoti first claimed the Senate President made indecent advances at her.

We all know that politicians and celebrities might be surrounded by people constantly, yet they still find ways to behave badly. Jeffrey Epstein and Puff Daddy did not conduct their affairs in the dark but amid hundreds of people. Closer to home, Jacob Zuma of South Africa had dalliances and children out of wedlock while surrounded by people all the time.

What was most disingenuous of Mrs Akpabio was her attempt to gaslight Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, Sen. Akpoti’s husband, by suggesting that he dropped the ball by allowing his wife to make her allegations public. That move was a low blow and hinted at some kind of consequences for him for letting his wife speak. If we are judging by the parameters she established, we can then assume that her defence of her husband was not due to her ability as a woman but is designed, produced, and directed by her husband. In any case, she has filed a suit. It will be interesting to see what sense the court makes of it.

The sad truth here is that this is not the first rodeo for both Akpabio and Akpoti concerning sexual harassment allegations. Only four years ago, while he was still Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against Sen. Akpabio. At that time, his accuser was Joy Nunieh, who was the Acting Managing Director of the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Commission (such a mouthful of a title). She also disclosed her allegations on national TV and proclaimed that she had to slap sense into Hon. Akpabio to leave her alone. Senator Akpabio would later deny that allegation.

Sen. Akpoti has also reportedly accused former presidential aide Reno Omokri of sexually harassing her. Omokri denied the allegations and threatened to sue, as he was out of the country at the time the incident was said to have occurred. That issue was settled out of court, with the Senator withdrawing her allegations.

In this instance, however, Senator Akpoti is doggedly pursuing her claims. She has already filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and has doubled down by submitting a petition on the same in the Senate. The law states that he who alleges must prove. Senator Akpoti has alleged, and the onus is on her to prove that those advances indeed happened.

According to some senators, notably Deputy Chief Whip Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, they have not occurred, as he claimed to be an eyewitness to the reported incident on December 8, 2023. He made his claims in a national TV interview, in which one could see the little regard in which he held his colleague. In that interview, he suggested that she was young, that she was not decent, and made reference to her “six children from six men.” (Records show that she has three children, and I assume all of them were conceived through consensual union, not a coerced one.) This is coming from a familiar playbook, one that Senator Akpabio had used in refuting the allegations made against him by Joy Nunieh. He suggested that she had an attitude problem and that questions should be asked of “at least her four husbands.”

This strategy serves not to address the allegation but to deflect it by presenting the woman as loose and therefore free to be groped and harassed. In case anyone is unclear, even sex workers can be sexually harassed and are entitled to protection from the law, irrespective of their occupation, not to mention public office holders who happen to be women.

Out of curiosity, if Senator Akpabio is innocent of the allegations Miss Nunieh made against him four years ago, why did he not sue her for defamation? Or was there ever a settlement out of court? Because these allegations are serious and should not be shoved under the carpet.

Senator Nwaebonyi’s attitude towards the allegation and his colleague does not suggest that Sen. Akpoti’s petition would receive any kind of fair hearing from a house where it seems all the senators have made up their minds about Akpabio’s innocence. It has set a tone where senators who have commented publicly have, in their own ways, problematised the matter further, from Senator Ireti Kingibe’s infantilisation of Senator Akpoti to Sen. Akpabio’s tone suggesting an inferiority of “court senators.”

While it is good for the house to be confident in its leadership, any good institution is only as good as it can protect its weakest member. As far as fairness is concerned, it is important to point out that Sen. Akpabio remains innocent of the allegations until proven otherwise.

This drama may seem like a distraction, but it is significant. We must recognise that this presents a significant opportunity for our system as a whole to establish how to protect all of us, both men and women, from all forms of workplace harassment. While women are often victims of sexual harassment, men too can be victims of false accusations. Rather than dismiss the allegations and attempt to shut Sen. Akpoti down, it would be wise to treat this case as a moment to set a standard of practice and conduct for both men and women in public offices. Some good can come out of this chaos.