From Isaac Samuel
A foremost Ebonyi socio-cultural and accountability group, Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural in the Diaspora (AEISCID), has issued a stern warning to the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, over his sustained verbal attacks on critics of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, particularly in relation to the ongoing sexual harassment scandal involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The group, in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by its President (Worldwide), Ambassador Paschal Oluchukwu, described Nwebonyi’s conduct as “un-parliamentary, unwholesome and unbecoming of a legislator by every known standard.”
Meanwhile, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) has filed a N5 billion defamation lawsuit against Senator Nwebonyi over derogatory statements he allegedly made during a Channels Television interview on March 6, 2025.
In the suit, marked FCT/W/1359/25 and filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Akpoti-Uduaghan is seeking damages for reputational harm caused by Nwebonyi’s public branding of her as a “gold digger,” “habitual liar,” and “habitual blackmailer.”
The group expressed dismay over what he termed the senator’s “heedless media voyages” and “toutish disposition” against Nigerians calling for a thorough probe of the allegations against Akpabio.
He said Nwebonyi’s conduct has not only embarrassed the people of Ebonyi North whom he represents but also ridiculed the state’s collective image on the national stage.
According to the AEISCID leader, “We have watched, read and listened deeply with concerning compunctions, the heedless vibrations of one of our sons, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi who represents the Ebonyi North Senatorial zone at the 10th National Assembly. Like the rest of Nigerians who have watched with reservations, how an ordinarily ‘distinguished Senator’ verbally attack any and every one including but not limited to Nigeria’s former Minister of Education and foremost women advocate, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, other respected Nigerians and the character of the alleged victim, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan since the allegations of sexual harassment against the nation’s number three citizen came to the fore.
“Ordinarily, we had contemplated letting the matter to gently slide, but we are forced to speak up due to the continuous media umbrages of our brother, Nwebonyi, who appears to have completely forgotten that he was elected to make laws for the benefit of his constituents and also to attract other such dividends of democracy while yet carrying himself in a most distinguished and honourable way as a lawmaker.
“For whatever it is worth, the voyages of Nwebonyi in defense of the accused, almost crying more than the bereaved leaves so much to be desired and therefore has left the rest of Ebonyians utterly ashamed of his undignifying behaviour to the extent that we fall short of labeling him “an attack dog”.
“We query the rationale behind the reckless abandonment of legislative duties by Nwebonyi to turn himself into a bag-carrying thug for his colleague who is merely a first among equals? What must have been promised or offered to the lawmaker to reduce himself and by extension ridicule the rest of Ebonyians with his shameful name-callings, limitless defenses and totally unprovoked anger against reasonable Nigerians who are lawfully calling for a thorough and proper investigation into the allegations and condemning the undemocratic suspension of Senator Natasha from the red chambers by the Senate President.
“We are forced to speak up due to the continuous media umbrages of our brother, Nwebonyi, who appears to have completely forgotten that he was elected to make laws and attract dividends of democracy, not to act as a bag-carrying thug for his colleague,” the group stated.
The AEISCID said it was contemplating mobilising constituents in Ebonyi North to initiate a recall process against the senator if he fails to retrace his steps.
Natasha in her suit by her lead counsel, Michael Jonathan Numa (SAN), said the statements by Nwebonyi were malicious, false and intended to diminish her standing in the eyes of the public.
The suit also challenges Nwebonyi’s alleged claim that the senator is “a mother of six from different men,” a statement Akpoti-Uduaghan says is defamatory per se and aimed at portraying her as a promiscuous woman.
The senator is asking the court for a perpetual injunction restraining Nwebonyi and his associates from making further defamatory remarks against her.
“The statements complained of do not constitute a valid exercise of freedom of speech but are unjustified, injurious, and capable of exposing the claimant to public odium and ridicule,” the suit noted.
