IPU: Senate dismisses Akpoti-Uduaghan’s arrest allegations

The Nigerian Senate has rejected the claims made by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan regarding a purported plan to arrest her upon her return from the Inter-Parliamentary Union event in New York.

In a press release issued to our correspondent on Monday, Senate Spokesman Adeyemi Adaramodu stated that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Senate have no obligation to engage with Akpoti-Uduaghan concerning this issue.

“She is searching for her lost content creation needle in a haystack,” Adaramodu remarked, dismissing the senator's assertions.

“The Senate President and the Nigerian Senate have no reason to further engage with her.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan had claimed that there were intentions to detain her upon her arrival in Abuja, alleging that Senate President Akpabio dispatched staff to “evacuate” her from the UN venue.

She maintained that her attendance at the IPU event was valid, despite her suspension.

In response, Adaramodu implied that Akpoti-Uduaghan was troubled by her own conduct at the IPU.

“If she is being haunted by her reckless criticisms of Nigeria at the IPU in distant New York, she should not involve the Senate, which is unwilling to be complicit in such a disreputable endeavor,” he stated.

During an interview with an online publication on Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan addressed questions regarding her attendance at the UN Inter-Parliamentary Union in New York without the necessary official approval.

In the course of the interview, she alleged that she was aware of plans to arrest her immediately upon her arrival in Abuja.

“I know there are plans to detain me as soon as I reach Abuja. Senate President Akpabio sent three staff members, led by the Chargé D’Affaires of the Nigerian embassy in New York, to evacuate me from the United Nations premises right after my speech.

“I was assisted by parliamentarians from other nations and security personnel.”

The senator clarified that she had registered for the meeting online.