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Claim: Reports circulating on social media here, here, and here claim that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over sexual harassment allegations made by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Verdict: Misleading. No evidence supports this claim. Findings reveal cases of sexual harassment are not in the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Full Text
The controversy between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan escalated in March 2025 following Natasha’s sexual harassment allegations against him.
Natasha was suspended from the Senate for six months after submitting a formal petition accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment. She also filed a ₦100 billion defamation lawsuit against Akpabio and his aide over alleged defamatory remarks.
The dispute gained international attention when Natasha addressed the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York, claiming her suspension was retaliatory. Meanwhile, protests were ongoing at the National Assembly, with demonstrators divided between supporting Akpabio and demanding his resignation.
These developments fueled widespread speculation online, with many questioning the legal and political implications of the allegations.
As tensions escalated, misinformation began circulating on social media, including unverified claims about international legal actions against Akpabio.
On March 24, 2025, a Facebook page, All-Hubs, posted that the ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Akpabio.
Part of the post read, “In a shocking development, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an international arrest warrant for Nigerian Senate President Godswill Akpabio, placing him on its sanctions list. The ICC has ordered his immediate arrest if sighted in any member country.”
The post further alleged that the ICC had reviewed video evidence against Akpabio and had formally requested President Bola Tinubu’s administration to take action.
As of March 24, 2025, the post had received 16 comments and six shares. The claim was also posted here, here, and here.
The nature of the claim and its relevance to public discourse prompted DUBAWA to fact-check it.
Verification
We reviewed ICC’s official website, press releases, and case listings and found no mention of an arrest warrant for Akpabio. According to the website, the ICC’s jurisdiction primarily covers genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression—not individual sexual harassment cases such as that of Akpabio and Natasha.
Although the ICC has issued arrest warrants for figures like Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Libya’s Osama Almasri Najim, these cases involved grave human rights violations rather than personal misconduct allegations.
We conducted keyword searches and found no article to corroborate this claim from reputable Nigerian or international media outlets, further questioning its authenticity.
Conclusion
There is no official confirmation from the ICC or any credible news source that an arrest warrant has been issued for Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Furthermore, sexual harassment cases do not fall within the ICC’s jurisdiction. The claim is, therefore, false.
