Imasuen dismissed the hearing and announced the senate was washing its hands off the sexual harassment case
Tension erupted at the National Assembly on Tuesday as Sen. Onyekachi Nwebonyi (Ebonyi North) and former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, engaged in a heated verbal exchange during a senate ethics committee hearing over sexual harassment allegations involving Senate President Godswill Akpabio and suspended Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Ezekwesili was present at the hearing to show solidarity with embattled Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan alongside Abiola Akiode, counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan, and Zubairu Yakubu, the petitioner.
The clash, which momentarily disrupted proceedings, saw tensions spike when Yakubu attempted to speak while the committee chairman, Sen. Neda Imasuen (LP, Edo South), was still addressing the panel. Ordered to mute his microphone, the move drew a swift reaction from Ezekwesili, who intervened.
READ ALSO: Unrelenting, Natasha calls senate a ‘cult’
But Sen. Nwebonyi, appearing as a witness for Senate President Godswill Akpabio, seized the moment to interject, triggering a fiery exchange with the former education minister.
“Compose yourself and stop making noise,” Ezekwesili snapped at Nwebonyi.
The senator, visibly enraged, fired back,“You’re a fool! What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You are an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here.”
At this point, Ezekwesili hit back, calling him a “hooligan,” a retort that sent the hearing into chaos and forced a temporary halt to proceedings.
Order was eventually restored as the committee chairman, Sen. Imasuen, resumed control of the proceedings. But the hearing took another dramatic twist when Natasha’s lawyer, Abiola Akiode, accused Imasuen of bias and demanded he step aside to ensure fairness.
“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,” Akiode said.
In a swift response, Imasuen dismissed the call and announced the senate was washing its hands off the case, declaring it “closed” as it is already pending in court.
He faulted the petition filed by Natasha, describing it as irregular and flawed. “Let me tell you, the first petition that came before us was signed by Distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Contrary to our rules, you cannot sign your own petition. The petition that came before us did not even have an address. Contrary to our rules, that petition shouldn’t have been entertained.”
“In any case, for the position that I can see you are taking, it means the whole senate is biased. Because the whole senate witnessed what happened. So, I don’t know what ad-hoc committee you are going to constitute that is not aware of what has been going on.”
He insisted that continuing the matter would be against the senate’s standing rules since the case is already before a competent court.
“Learned respondent (Akpabio’s counsel) has just told us that this matter is before the law court, and I will address that by our rule book. I will address that by our rule book, order 40 (7), which says ‘senate should not receive or deliberate on any matter to which actions are pending in any court of law.’ This is our rule book.
“Therefore, the petitioner said he would not speak to his petition because the committee is biased, the respondent has just told us that this case is before a competent court of law, therefore, this committee will allow the court of law, that will not be biased, to handle this matter.
“Therefore, this matter is closed here at the senate and it is adjourned sine die.”
However, beneath the chaotic exchanges and legal arguments, one figure stood out, Sen. Nwebonyi. Rather than maintain neutrality as deputy chief whip, a principal officer expected to uphold decorum and fairness, Nwebonyi has emerged as one of Akpabio’s fiercest defenders in the Natasha-Akpabio saga. He appears more agitated and invested in the fight than even Akpabio.
At the hearing, Nwebonyi’s aggressive posturing underscored his role as a political shield for the senate president. But his loyalty to Akpabio extends far beyond the chambers. Nwebonyi has repeatedly defended the senate president on media platforms, turning his defense into a public campaign.
On Berekete Family Radio, Nwebonyi dismissed Natasha’s sexual harassment allegations as “a calculated attempt to blackmail the senate leadership.”
Appearing on Arise TV, he doubled down, branding the petition “a failed political gimmick” and accusing Natasha of seeking “cheap sympathy.”
The senator insisted there was no merit in the allegations, vowing that the senate would not allow itself to be dragged into what he described as “a personal vendetta.”
Meanwhile, Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a contempt application against both Imasuen and Akpabio over her suspension, signaling that the legal battle is far from over.
