A coalition of senior lawyers under the aegis of Concerned Human Rights Protection Advocates (CHRPA) has condemned the sexual allegation levelled against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, by the suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing the entire scene as a national embarrassment and distraction capable of slowing down the focus of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
In a communique issued at the end of a stakeholders’ meeting, the coalition of lawyers, expressed satisfaction with Akpabio’s decision to excuse himself from the Presidential Panel set up to investigate the allegation.
According to the lawyers, Senator Akpabio did the most honourable thing by withdrawing from the probe panel, being an interested party in the matter.
The panel, it would be recalled, was set up by President Bola Tinubu on April 2, 2025, headed by Vice President Kashim Shettima, with a mandate to investigate the serious allegations that have drawn national attention and embarrassment.
Other members of the panel include the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, and one representative each nominated by Senator Akpabio and Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
A legal luminary and one-time president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, said there was absolutely nothing wrong with what the Senate President did, withdrawing from the panel.