The Nigerian Senate has denied claims by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan that there are plans to arrest her upon her return from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York.
Senate Spokesman Adeyemi Adaramodu, in a statement on Monday, dismissed the allegations, stating that neither Senate President Godswill Akpabio nor the Senate had any reason to engage with Akpoti-Uduaghan on the issue.
“She’s looking for her lost content creation needle in a haystack,” Adaramodu said.
“The Senate President and the Nigerian Senate have no reason to join issues with her anymore.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier alleged that plans were in place to arrest her in Abuja. She also claimed that Senate President Akpabio had sent officials to remove her from the United Nations premises after her speech at the IPU event.
She defended her attendance at the IPU meeting, insisting that it was legitimate despite her suspension from the Senate.
In response, Adaramodu suggested that her concerns stemmed from her own actions at the event.
“If she’s being haunted by her unguarded vituperations against Nigeria at the IPU in faraway New York, she should spare the Senate, which is not ready to be her accomplice in such a sordid voyage,” he stated.
In an interview on Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan explained why she attended the IPU event despite not having official approval.
During the interview, she claimed she was aware of plans to arrest her once she arrived in Abuja.
“I’m aware there are plans underway to arrest me as soon as I arrive in Abuja. The Senate President Akpabio sent three staff members, headed by the Chargé D’Affaires of the Nigerian embassy in New York, to evacuate me from the United Nations premises right after my speech.
“I was rescued by parliamentarians from other countries and the security.”