SUSPENDED Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is reportedly afraid to return to Nigeria following her remarks at the United Nations’ Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) News Point Nigeria gathered.
According to sources close to the senator, she fears that she will be arrested as soon as she arrives in the country.
On March 11, during a United Nations’ IPU session held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Akpoti-Uduaghan raised concerns about her suspension, claiming it was an attempt to silence her over her sexual harassment allegations.
She also condemned what she described as an “unlawful suspension” from the Senate.
Her speech at the IPU followed the six-month suspension imposed on her by the Senate after it received a report from its Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, chaired by Neda Imasuen.
Following her statement at the IPU, sources reveal that she has been unable to return to Nigeria due to fears of being arrested.
Reports indicate that the embattled senator is currently under investigation by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
According to the report, the investigation aims to determine how she obtained accreditation for the IPU event, who facilitated her trip, and whether her participation was orchestrated to embarrass the Nigerian government.
Earlier, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele questioned the legality of the Kogi lawmaker’s attendance at the IPU.
Bamidele emphasised that Nigeria’s membership in the international body is through the National Assembly and not individuals.
He said, “Inter-Parliamentary organizations, including the IPU, operate based on protocols. Membership is by national parliamentary organisations, not individuals. Those who attend are designated delegates, speaking on behalf of their Parliament.
“If, for any reason, a colleague who was not even designated as a delegate found her way there and spoke for herself rather than for Nigeria, that is another issue altogether.”
Similarly, Jimoh Ibrahim, Chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee in the Nigerian Senate, stated that he did not approve Akpoti-Uduaghan’s name as a delegate to the IPU.
He said, “I did not approve or authorize the suspended Senator Natasha to attend the IPU on behalf of Nigeria or the Senate President.”
But Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has warned against any official probe by security agencies into how Natasha was able to attend the IPU session.
In a statement on Sunday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said any probe by security agencies could bring “needless embarrassment and undeserved ridicule” to the country.
The statement reads in parts, “Finally, it is public knowledge that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio had accused Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of embarrassing the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by reporting her suspension by the senate to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
“Contrary to the jaundiced views of the senate leader, it is the official probe of the circumstances of her trip by security forces that will expose Nigeria to needless embarrassment and undeserved ridicule
“Therefore, the SSS and NIA may study the report of the investigation of our illegal travelling by the Sani Abacha military junta before embarking on the futile attempt to probe Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for having the temerity to externalise the “internal affair of the Senate”.
Responding to News Point Nigeria‘s questions about her attendance at the IPU, a source close to Akpoti-Uduaghan revealed that she narrowly escaped arrest in New York due to the intervention of other parliamentarians and remains uncertain about what awaits her in Nigeria.
One of the sources said, “She told some of us that plans are in motion to detain her the moment she steps into Abuja.
“She narrated how some officers of Nigeria’s embassy in New York, attempted to remove her from the United Nations premises immediately after her speech.”
The source added, “It was the intervention of lawmakers from other countries and security personnel that saved her.
“We can’t fathom what would have happened if they had successfully taken her out of the premises.”
Similarly, a lawmaker, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that Akpoti-Uduaghan was under surveillance by security agencies.
The lawmaker stated, “As it is now, she is afraid of returning to the country.
“She is currently on a watchlist, and the moment she lands, she will be arrested.”