Taiwo Popoola
Former presidential media aide Reno Omokri has challenged Natasha Akpoti to undergo a lie detector test following her allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Omokri, in a detailed video posted on social media, revealed that Akpoti-Uduaghan had made similar allegations against him in 2021.
He said: “On Tuesday, 12 October 2021, Natasha Akpoti had a dispute with me and, after the dispute, she went on social media and accused me of sexually harassing her.
“She claimed that at a state banquet at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, held by President Goodluck Jonathan for the visiting Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, on Tuesday, 6 May 2014, I had sexually harassed her.
“Now, the thing is, a month before, the Chibok girls had been abducted, and as one of his presidential spokesmen, President Jonathan sent me to the United States as a special envoy to try to clean up Nigeria’s image. I left in April and I wasn’t back in Nigeria until the end of May. So, Natasha Akpoti lied.
“So what I did was go on social media and publish my passport stamp, showing my departure from Nigeria and entry into the United States. I also published a first-class British Airways ticket showing that I left Nigeria for the United Kingdom and then travelled from the United Kingdom to the United States. I was not in Nigeria throughout the time when Natasha Akpoti accused me. So she lied.
“After newspapers published my evidence, Natasha deleted all traces of her accusation. She deleted everything. She had made a video insulting me, my wife, and my newborn daughter. She also deleted that.
“The next day, I received a phone call from a prominent Christian clergyman. As a fellow pastor, they believed I would listen to a senior member of the body of Christ. He called me on a three-way call with Emmanuel Oritshejolomi Uduaghan, Natasha Akpoti’s present husband.
“They appealed to me, quoting scriptural references about Christians taking each other to court, and I listened to them. We settled the matter out of court. I was paid a large amount of money as damages, and I let the matter go.
“So, fast forward four years later, Natasha Akpoti had a dispute with the Senate President. After that dispute, she went on Arise TV and accused him of sexual harassment. It sounds like déjà vu.
“The thing is, I do not know if those allegations are true. But one thing I do know is that Natasha Akpoti is a liar—a known liar. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour.”
Omokri said that before Nigerians crucify Akpabio, Akpoti-Uduaghan should be compelled to take a lie detector test.
“Come out. Take the test. You know, be escorted by one senator who supports you and another senator who is neutral,” he said.
He added that because he had evidence, the Kogi senator retracted her false allegations and deleted every trace of them.
“Until she takes a lie detector test, the presumption is that she is acting on her past behaviour,” he concluded.
