Nigerian Senate has closed the s3xual harassment case filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, citing that the matter is already before a court of law.
Gatekeepers News reports that Neda Imaseun, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, said the committee will not deliberate on the matter further.
The decision was made after Abiola Akiode, counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan, accused Imaseun of bias and asked him to step down as chairman of the senate panel.
Akiode stated, “Our intention is that, if we are going to proceed, we want the chair to please step down from this conversation to allow for fairness and justice in accordance with the constitution of this country”.
Imaseun responded by citing the senate’s rule book, order 40 (7), which states that the senate should not receive or deliberate on any matter that is pending in a court of law.
He also pointed out that the initial petition filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan did not follow the senate’s rules, as it was signed by the senator herself and did not have an address.
Meanwhile, Akpoti-Uduaghan has instituted a contempt application against Imaseun and Senate President Godswill Akpabio over her suspension.
