She Came From An Ethnic Group In Nigeria Whose Ancestors Were Forcefully Abducted For Slavery

According to a post on X on Saturday, March 28, 2026, senator Shehu Sani, a prominent Nigerian human rights activist and lawmaker, has sharply criticized Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the UK Conservative Party and a politician of Nigerian Yoruba descent, for her stance against a United Nations resolution on the transatlantic slave trade and reparations.

The controversy erupted after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution introduced by Ghana, which described the transatlantic slave trade as one of the greatest injustices in human history and called for the establishment of a global reparations fund.

The resolution urged nations involved in the historical slave trade to acknowledge and apologize for their roles. While 123 countries voted in favor, the United Kingdom was among 51 nations, mostly European, that abstained. The United States, Israel, and Argentina voted against it.

Badenoch, who was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, publicly criticized the Labour government’s decision to abstain rather than oppose the measure as reported by BBC News. She stated: “Russia, China and Iran vote with others to demand trillions in reparations from UK taxpayers…and the Labour government abstain! Britain led the fight to end slavery. Why didn’t Starmer’s representative vote against this? Ignorance…or cowardice? We shouldn’t be paying for a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today.”

She further argued that Britain should not bear financial responsibility, emphasizing the country’s historical role in abolishing the slave trade.

Senator Shehu Sani responded directly to Badenoch’s position in a strongly worded post on X on Saturday. He wrote: “She came from an ethnic group in Nigeria whose ancestors were forcefully abducted and shipped to the Americas for slavery. Millions died as a result of asphyxiation, dehydration, hunger and torture.”

She added, “The descendants of the Slave masters agreed that their ancestors committed the ‘gravest crime against humanity’. She is ‘intoxicated’ by the comfort of her adopted home. She opposed UN reparations vote in order to please those who will never be pleased with her sycophancy….See More