Lawmakers suspend senator after sexual harassment claim

Nigerian lawmakers have suspended a senator for six months, after she submitted a petition alleging she had been sexually harassed by the senate president, reports BBC News. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan first made the accusations against one of the country's top politicians, Godswill Akpabio, in an interview the previous Friday. After dismissing her petition on procedural grounds, the ethics committee recommended Uduaghan's suspension, saying she had brought ridicule to the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Some senators argued that her suspension be cut to three months but a majority voted to stick with the six months' suspension recommended by the ethics committee. Women's rights activist Hadiza Ado told BBC News that Uduaghan's suspension was a ‘sad day for Nigerian women’. Uduaghan afterwards described her suspension as ‘an injustice that will not be sustained’. The accusations have dominated discussions across Nigeria since she first made them. Many highly placed people and groups have called for a transparent investigation.

Full BBC News report