A Senate hearing turned chaotic on Tuesday, March 25, when Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi of Ebonyi North and former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili engaged in a heated exchange.
The altercation erupted during a session of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, which was reviewing a fresh petition submitted by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Ezekwesili attended the hearing alongside Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal counsel, Abiola Akiode, and the petitioner, Zubairu Yakubu.
Tensions flared when Yakubu attempted to speak while the committee chairman, Neda Imaseun, was addressing the room. He was instructed to mute his microphone, but when Ezekwesili tried to intervene, Nwaebonyi interjected.
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Ezekwesili, visibly irritated, told the senator to “compose himself and stop making noise.” Her remark angered Nwaebonyi, who lashed out.
“You’re a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You’re an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here,” Nwaebonyi retorted.
Ezekwesili fired back, calling him a “hooligan,” further intensifying the verbal clash.
The exchange briefly halted the proceedings before order was restored. Imaseun later announced that the matter under discussion was already before a court, bringing the hearing to an abrupt end.