Renowned human rights advocate and #BringBackOurGirls co-convener, Aisha Yesufu, has lambasted Nigerian police officers stationed at the National Assembly for barring citizens, including lawmakers, from accessing the complex during a protest.
Yesufu, who was part of a solidarity team supporting embattled Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, confronted the officers on site and described their actions as unconstitutional and oppressive.
“One day you will be on the streets, as a retired person, begging the same people you oppressed to protest on your behalf,” she told them, urging the officers to reconsider their role in Nigeria’s declining democracy.
Clearly outraged, Yesufu posed a sobering question:
“At this age, is this what you want to be doing? Is this the Nigeria you want for your children? You’re destroying the future of your own children.”
The protest followed Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s controversial six-month suspension by the Senate on March 6, 2025. The punishment stemmed from her sexual harassment accusation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, a claim that led to the sealing of her office, withdrawal of her salary, legislative access, and the suspension of her aides’ pay.
Aisha Yesufu did not hold back when criticizing the officers’ silence on who issued the blockade order:
“We respect the law, but that does not mean we are cowards. This is the National Assembly—it belongs to all Nigerians. You are blocking people and can’t even say who sent you. Are you proud of that?”
She also slammed the force as “a shameless willing tool of oppression,” referencing a recent pro-police welfare protest that was ironically crushed by the police themselves.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s ordeal began when she resisted the removal of her nameplate and reassignment of her seat—actions she interpreted as politically motivated attempts to silence her.
Despite mounting public support and outcry from civil society, the Senate has insisted her suspension will stand for six months or until she tenders a formal apology—something she has refused to do.
