The Nigerian Senate has suspended a female senator after she accused its presiding officer of sexual harassment.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was barred from office from Thursday and will have her allowances and security withdrawn for six months after she made an accusation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who denied the claims against him.

On Wednesday, the Senate ethics committee rejected Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition about the alleged harassment, citing procedural rule violations. Her subsequent suspension was justified over an earlier argument that erupted in the Senate about a change in her seating arrangement.

In a TV interview on February 28, Akpoti-Uduaghan – one of only four women in the 109-seat chamber – alleged that Akpabio made unwanted sexual advances towards her in 2023.

“This injustice will not be sustained,” she said on Thursday after she was prevented from speaking in the Senate and escorted out of the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms.

Akpabio has publicly denied any wrongdoing. “Since the 20th of February, I have been inundated with phone calls from various Nigerians. I would like to state that at no time did I sexually harass Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan,” he said, speaking at the start of a plenary session on Wednesday.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Nigeria’s north-central Kogi Central district, shared a statement on her Facebook page in reaction to the suspension.

“Against the culture of silence, intimidation and victim-shaming; my unjust suspension from the Nigerian Senate invalidates the principles of natural justice, fairness and equity,” she said.

“The illegal suspension does not withdraw my legitimacy as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I will continue to use my duly elected position to serve my constituents and country to the best of my ability till 2027 and beyond.”

Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said Akpoti-Uduaghan should use her suspension to “learn the rules of the Senate”.

“I asked her what she will gain if she tries to pull the Senate president down,” Bamidele said during the consideration of the petition on the Senate floor.

Critics like Chioma Agwuegbo, executive director of the women’s rights organisation TechHerNG, condemned the ethics committee’s handling of the case, alleging bias.

“The ethics committee to which her petition was referred has shown that it is not fit for purpose,” Agwuegbo said.

Many prominent Nigerian figures and groups have called for a transparent investigation. Many women also expressed their anger over the expulsion on social media with some calling it “oppression”.

Two groups of protesters gathered at the National Assembly ground on Wednesday in the capital, Abuja, one in support of Akpabio and the other for Akpoti-Uduaghan, chanting ”Akpabio must go.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against the Senate president, seeking 100 billion naira ($64,000) in damages.

While rare in Nigeria’s National Assembly, this is not the first time a case involving sexual harassment or assault has emerged. Senator Dino Melaye was accused of threatening to sexually assault Senator Remi Tinubu, the country’s current first lady, but was never charged.

[Aljazeera]

Tropical Cyclone Alfred has weakened into a tropical low weather system but officials warned that the storm can still bring severe winds and flooding to the eastern coast of Australia.

The cyclone,  which weakened early on Saturday, crossed the islands off the coast of Queensland state overnight and is now heading towards the mainland, the Bureau of Meteorology said

“Heavy-to-locally intense rainfall leading to flash and riverine flooding now becomes the major concern as the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred moves inland,” Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said.

Alfred has blacked out more than a quarter of a million homes and businesses while prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people. No deaths have been reported so far but authorities have urged residents to stay indoors.

“The impacts are already being felt, and there is worse to come in the hours ahead,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a news conference from the National Situation Room in Canberra.

It had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital of Brisbane since 1974.

Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north but rare in the state’s temperate and densely populated southeast corner that borders New South Wales state.

Brisbane Airport remains shut and the city has suspended public transport. More than 1,000 schools in southeast Queensland and 280 in northern New South Wales (NSW) have been closed.

More than 330,000 homes and businesses lost power on both sides of the border between NSW and Queensland, a large proportion of them in Gold Coast, which recorded the strongest gusts of 107km/h (66mph) on Friday night.

Of those, 291,000 premises were in Queensland, including 131,000 at Gold Coast, officials said. Another 45,000 were without power in New South Wales.

Power lines, homes and cars were damaged by falling trees across the region over Friday night.

One man was still missing after his four-wheel drive vehicle was swept off a bridge into a rain-swollen river the previous day in northern New South Wales.

“While it has been downgraded, very serious risks remain so it is important that people do not take this downgrading as a reason for complacency,” PM Albanese said.

[Aljazeera]