By Abbas Yunusa.
The unfolding legal and political saga surrounding Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has continued to provoke strong reactions, as leading civic voices and public affairs commentators demand that the embattled Kogi Central lawmaker face justice rather than incite public emotion with sensationalist narratives.
Dr. Sandra C. Duru, a renowned reform advocate and public policy strategist, issued a statement on her social media pages, in which she accused Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan of orchestrating a deceitful public relations campaign to avoid submitting evidence before a competent court of law.
Duru’s remarks followed former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili’s open memo to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, calling on the Federal Government to halt what she described as “atrocious injustice” against Senator Natasha.
In a strongly worded rebuttal, Duru made it clear that she does not operate “on the same academic, intellectual, spiritual, or moral wavelength” as those she described as media charlatans and misinformed activists rallying behind Natasha. She accused Ezekwesili and others of trying to emotionally blackmail the public and derail judicial due process.
“Tell Natasha to bring her evidence. Period,” Duru said. “I do not bark back at noise; I cage it with dignity, strategy, and law. I do not operate in the mud of propaganda.”
She continued, “What we’re witnessing here is not courage. It is media cosplay and attention-seeking dressed in the borrowed robes of advocacy. It’s time to separate justice from drama.”
“No Background in Governance, No Business in the Senate”.
Duru questioned the very legitimacy of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s political rise, describing her as “a product of seduction, sensationalism, and social manipulation,” with no formal background in public administration or legislative affairs.
“The Senate is a place for institutional wisdom. Natasha entered the chamber with noise, but no knowledge. She has weaponized seduction and emotional blackmail into a political career — from seduction to erection to destruction.”
Turning her attention to Dr. Ezekwesili, Duru accused the former minister of trying to hijack a legal matter for personal ends, warning that such behavior fuels public distrust in institutions.
“Oby Ezekwesili should be quiet and allow Natasha to present her evidence — which she obviously doesn’t have. What we’re witnessing is an attempt to shield someone from justice by framing her as a victim instead of letting the facts speak in court,” Duru added.
She warned that no amount of hashtags, protest letters, or emotional posturing can substitute for hard evidence before the law.
“If you allege sexual harassment, human organ harvesting, and threat to life — you must prove it. Not cry wolf on TV and then disappear when called to court.”
Duru concluded her statement with a resounding affirmation that she is ready to present her own verifiable evidence against the Senator in due course.
This episode marks a turning point in public perception of the Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan saga. What began months ago as an emotional plea for justice has increasingly come to be seen — in the absence of evidence and the presence of numerous unsubstantiated allegations, courtroom absences — as a calculated attempt to weaponize sympathy and derail accountability. For many Nigerians, this is now a defining moment — not just for one senator, but for the credibility of Nigeria’s judicial system and the principle that no individual, regardless of gender or office, is above the law. Justice must be done — not through hashtags, but in court.
