A Senate of Sexual Harassment Mob? – Written by Adeola Soetan

Dismissing a heavy sexual harassment petition by Natasha against Akpabio on technical ground by the senate, is a tacit admission of guilt by Senator Akpabio and his pro-sexual harassment morally hollow senate chamber.

It’s like a university senate dismissing a sexual harassment petition by a female student against her lecturer on technical ground of spelling mistake or not submitting through the proper channels. Only a university of sex predators will do that.

Akpabio lost a great opportunity to prove his innocence and leadership with this backdoor escape route of rules technicality, by promoting mere senate rules over fundamental rule of fair hearing on grievous allegation of sexual harassment levied against him. This is coming five years after Mrs Joy Nuel ex-NDDC head made similar allegation against him and she even said she slapped Akpabio in order to resist his passes when he was Minister of Niger – Delta Ministry.

There’s nothing sacrosanct about any senate rule that can’t be stepped down (as done before in the senate) by the principle of necessity, particularly when the integrity of the presiding officer of the national assembly, the senate and the nation is at stake before the civilized world.

In a saner country, Akpabio couldn’t have presided over the senate session to receive a sexual harassment petition against him, making him a judge in his own case. Laughable indeed. The pro-sexual harassment mob in the chamber has only put the country into global shame with the desperate attempt to save Akpabio from being investigated on the charges levied against him by a colleague female senator.

For those ex female Senators who defended Akpabio, overtly or covertly, surprisingly, one even said Natasha should dress less attractive/seductive (I don’t know what that means), they have only suggested how morally compromised they were, possibly as “Suya” to share in the male – female imbalanced power relation while they were in the senate

The senate may have closed the case on the solidarity of “Awo ni n’gbe Awo ni gbowo” (solidarity of the initiates) but the case will remain open in the public court just like the Akpabio vs Joy sexual harassment case 2020 that’s still fresh in our memories as reference.