THE GUARDIAN
• Police in dilemma as Natasha abandons petition
• Senate moves to probe soaring data costs
Police investigation into alleged infiltration of the National Assembly by the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB) of Russian is causing apprehension in the Senate.
However, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) appears to be in a quandary over the investigation. Checks revealed that the Police Headquarters had invited the Chairman of the Committee on Senate Services, Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi West), for interrogation following a petition submitted by his Kogi Central counterpart, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The female lawmaker confirmed, yesterday, that the police invited her to adopt the petition she had submitted against Karimi. Also, the Senate has launched investigation into the rising cost of telecommunication airtime and data services, seeking to uncover the root and propose solution for a more sustainable and business-friendly telecommunications sector.
Following the invitation, Karimi confirmed invitation by the police for questioning which took place on Monday.
According to the petition dated March 5, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is on six months suspension from the Senate, asked the police to investigate claims by Karimi that KGB infiltrated the National Assembly, posing a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic processes.
In her petition, she alleged that Karimi shared a report entitled ‘KGB Agent Group Warns Senate: A Call for Vigilance Amidst Threats to Democracy’ on the official WhatsApp group of the 10th Senate on February 23, 2025.
Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the police not to treat the alarm raised by Karimi with levity, declaring: “No nation can afford to ignore the presence of such a group within its legislative body.”
Further checks revealed that Karimi appeared at Louis Edet House on Monday to state his side in deference to police invitation. Responding to insinuations that she abandoned her petition, Natasha said she had adopted her petition upon police invitation but has not received invitation to defend the petition. It was learnt that more senators may be invited to boost the investigation because of the seriousness of the matter.