Senate President Godswill Akpabio has lamented the supposed trauma he and the Senate have suffered due to the sexual harassment allegations leveled against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. However, if truth be told, the real victim of trauma is Natasha herself—a woman who dared to speak up against male dominance in a legislature historically hostile to women’s leadership.

The psychological toll of her suspension, public vilification, and institutional gaslighting reflects the entrenched patriarchy in Nigeria’s political system. The Senate, under the leadership of Akpabio and Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, has turned a blind eye to the systemic suffering inflicted upon women who challenge the status quo. Instead of addressing the allegations with due process, they have chosen to silence and isolate the accuser, reinforcing a culture of impunity.

The Trauma of Silencing Women in Power

For Akpoti-Uduaghan, the trauma is profound. Her suspension is more than a political penalty; it is an act of psychological warfare against all women in leadership. The Senate’s decision sends a chilling message to Nigerian women: speak up, and you will be punished. This calculated retaliation induces fear, stress, and emotional distress, creating an environment where women are systematically discouraged from seeking public office.

The impact of such institutional bullying includes:

Public humiliation and degradation: She was forcibly walked out of the Senate chamber by the Sergeant-at-Arms, a move intended to break her spirit in full view of her colleagues and the nation.

Economic and career sabotage: Her office was locked immediately after her suspension, denying her access to essential legislative tools and resources. Her salary was cut off without due process, ensuring that she was left financially vulnerable.

Verbal attacks and intimidation: Male senators, one after another, hurled painful words at her on the Senate floor, weaponizing their voices to degrade and shame her. They dismissed her claims, questioned her character, and cast her as unruly and unfit to serve.

Institutionalized media manipulation: A dark cloud of misinformation was spread through compromised media outlets, framing her as the aggressor rather than the victim. Headlines painted her as disruptive, unworthy, and a political opportunist, erasing the context of her ordeal.

Authoritarian suppression of her voice

Her microphone was abruptly cut off during her last moments on the Senate floor, a symbolic and literal silencing of her words. Akpabio himself presided over this entire charade, ensuring that she had no chance to defend herself.

Psychological toll: Should she decide to seek therapy to heal from the trauma inflicted upon her, the Senate must be held financially responsible for the cost of her treatment. It is the institution that inflicted this harm, and it must bear the burden of redress.

The Role of the Senate in Perpetuating Psychological Abuse

The Nigerian Senate, through Akpabio and Bamidele, has mastered the art of psychological manipulation by making Akpoti-Uduaghan’s experience seem like an overreaction. The Senate President’s remarks, filled with sarcasm and dismissal, seek to trivialize her experience.

Akpabio’s statements—such as suggesting that no one heard of the harassment until a committee change—are not just defensive; they are deliberate attempts to question her credibility and normalize gendered political suppression. This is a classic example of gaslighting, a psychological abuse tactic designed to make victims question their own reality.

Moreover, the refusal to acknowledge Akpoti-Uduaghan’s trauma is part of a broader pattern in Nigeria’s male-dominated power structures, where men in leadership feign victimhood when held accountable. By shifting the narrative, the Senate avoids addressing the systemic issues that enable gender-based violence in governance.

The Broader Impact: What This Means for Nigerian Women

The handling of this case has ramifications beyond the walls of the National Assembly. It discourages young women from entering politics, reinforces gender discrimination, and perpetuates a toxic culture where women are expected to endure mistreatment in silence.

The Senate’s actions violate international commitments Nigeria has made to protect women’s rights, including:

The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

The Urgent Need for Accountability

Nigeria cannot continue to present itself as a champion of gender equality while engaging in high-profile acts of gender suppression. Women’s rights organizations, international human rights bodies, and legal advocates must challenge this injustice at the national and global levels. The following organizations should take a stand:

United Nations Women (UN Women)

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Amnesty International

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

The Global Fund for Women

The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)

Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

These leaders treat Nigeria as their personal playground, unchallenged because they have the police and judiciary under fear and compromise. The institutional corruption that enables them must be dismantled, and they must be held to account by both local and global legal frameworks.

Who is the Real Victim?

Senate President Akpabio and his allies may claim to be traumatized, but the real question is: who holds the power and who is actually suffering the consequences? The victim here is not the man who has access to unlimited political resources and media control—it is the woman who has been silenced, vilified, and excluded from the legislative process for daring to speak her truth.

If justice is to be served, Akpoti-Uduaghan must be reinstated, her allegations must be investigated with transparency, and the Nigerian Senate must be held accountable for its systemic oppression of women in governance. Until then, this remains a glaring example of how power protects itself at the expense of truth, justice, and democracy.