Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has raised alarm over an alleged plan to arrest her upon her return to Nigeria.
The senator linked the threat to her recent speech at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York, where she raised concerns about sexual harassment allegations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
According to her, three Nigerian Embassy officials, led by the Chargé D’Affaires, attempted to remove her from the event venue at the United Nations premises. However, foreign parliamentarians and security personnel intervened, preventing the action.
Clarifying her attendance, Akpoti-Uduaghan stated that she independently registered for the conference through the IPU’s mailing list, having participated in previous meetings. She emphasized that her trip was self-funded and that her suspension from the Nigerian Senate did not strip her of her status as a senator.
This was not her first participation in an IPU event. In March 2024, she attended the 148th IPU General Assembly in Geneva alongside Akpabio, Cross River South Senator Ekpenyong Asuquo, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu.
Despite her claims of legitimacy, Nigeria’s security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), have reportedly launched an investigation into how she gained access to the New York meeting without official nomination.
The probe, triggered by complaints from the Nigerian Senate, seeks to determine if external facilitators aided her participation and whether her statements at the event misrepresented Nigeria’s official stance.
