Women Centre Warns Against Victimisation Of Natasha

Citing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s importance to women’s emancipation, a group called  Every Woman Hope Centre (lEWHC) has vowed to mobilise Nigerian women to lend their weight to the seemingly stifling of women’s voices in the country.

At a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the group’s founder/executive director, Mrs  Edel-Quinn Agbaegbu, posited that what played out at the hallowed chamber on this matter had exposed the country’s entrenched culture of silence and stigmatisation which has deeply undermined women clamouring for empowerment and emancipation.

She called on the relevant authorities to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation in the best interest of democracy in the country.

Agbaegbu said instead of victimising Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, she should rather be respected for her boldness against the culture of silence, intimidation and victim-shaming, which perpetrates an environment where victims are silenced and perpetrators emboldened.

“In the light of this unfortunate development, EWHC is recommending that relevant authorities should open up due process, instead of trivialising matters for the best interest of the integrity of the Senate.

“We suggest that a thorough investigation of the allegations should be carried out, and the process shall be very transparent to build confidence in our systems in the best interest of democracy in Nigeria.

A seeming disregard of the fundamental human right of fair hearing of a Nigerian citizen should not be allowed to slide. The guilty should be punished.

“Her bravery to stand up against alleged man’s inhumanity to man, should serve as an encouragement to other women who are the most vulnerable to sexual harassment to voice out in the face of similar challenges,” she stressed.

She criticised what she described as disregard for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s right to a fair hearing and that any proven wrongdoing should be punished accordingly to maintain the integrity of the Senate.

The controversy began on February 20, 2025, when tensions arose following Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s protest over reallocating her seat in the Senate chamber after two senators defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Senate President Akpabio instructed that she should be moved from the chamber and referred her to the Senate Ethics Committee for allegedly defying Senate rules.

EWHC condemned the suspension, stating that it not only silenced a female senator but also left Kogi Central Senatorial Zone without representation. The organization expressed concerns about the case’s impact on women’s participation in Nigerian politics and described it as a reflection of the country’s entrenched culture of silence and stigmatisation against women.

“We should not allow this injustice to be sustained,” Agbaegbu said, warning that the marginalization of women in governance continues to weaken democracy even as she urged the society to respect Akpoti-Uduaghan for speaking out rather than punishing her.

She advocated for broader reforms to address sexual harassment and intimidation in politics.

As parts of plans to support women and the senator’s plight, EWHC said it will mobilise Nigerian women in solidarity, drawing parallels to the Aba Women’s Riot of 1929  in a peaceful advocacy.

The organisation vowed to push for reforms that ensure a fair and just democratic system where women’s rights are upheld.

EWHC called on the authorities to handle the case with transparency, fairness, and respect for the rule of law, emphasizing that the issue extends beyond one individual and represents a larger struggle for women’s empowerment in Nigeria.

“On account of what the plight of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan means for a women emancipation, EWHC has now taken it upon itself to mobilise women of Nigeria to support the house.

This is a clarion call for action like what women did in Aba in 1929, but not with violence this time,” she said