Yesufu: Security asked Natasha for husband before entry into Senate

Rights activist Aisha Yesufu has alleged that security personnel at the National Assembly attempted to deny Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan entry into her office on the grounds that her husband was not present.

Yesufu, co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, said the incident occurred yesterday when the reinstated Kogi Central senator resumed duties, six months after her suspension by the Senate.

The lawmaker was suspended following sexual harassment allegations she raised against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

In a post on X, Yesufu recounted that security operatives at the National Assembly claimed they were acting on instructions that Akpoti-Uduaghan could only be allowed access if her husband accompanied her.

She wrote: *“Yesterday the security at the National Assembly were insisting that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s husband has to be around before she will be allowed in. They claimed that was the instruction given to them. I asked them whether they asked for the wives of other senators before letting them in.

“The see-finish we get as women in this country is on another level. You are asking a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to bring her husband before you open gate! Kai.”*

The standoff was later resolved when the office of the sergeant-at-arms reopened and unsealed her office. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan thereafter addressed journalists.