Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to appear in court over defamation charges

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central senatorial district, is scheduled to appear before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Tuesday.

This follows criminal charges filed against her by the Federal Government through the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar.

The Federal Government accuses Akpoti-Uduaghan of making defamatory statements against the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello. The suit was filed on May 16, 2025, under case number CR/297/25.

According to the charge sheet, Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly made false and damaging claims during a live TV broadcast and a private phone call.

A key allegation centers on her appearance on Politics Today on Channels TV on April 3, 2025, where she reportedly stated that Akpabio and Bello discussed plans to assassinate her. She was quoted as saying, “It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night, to eliminate me… he then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi.”

Furthermore, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making additional defamatory remarks during a private phone conversation with Dr. Sandra Duru on March 27, 2025.

She allegedly claimed that Akpabio was involved in organ harvesting, purportedly for his ailing wife, and that this was connected to the late Iniubong Umoren’s death.

Godswill Akpabio, Yahaya Bello, and four others are listed as key witnesses in the trial.

In an interview with Punch, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Idahosa, affirmed their readiness to contest the charges. He said, “If the case is called tomorrow, we will respond accordingly with our client. The issue of protest is irrelevant to us—we are lawyers, and our focus is on defending charges we believe can be contested.”

Idahosa added, “Our client is a law-abiding citizen. Why wouldn’t she be there? It’s a summons we have undertaken. Only disrespectful institutions that disregard court orders would fail to appear, and she is not in that category.”

Regarding the possibility of arraignment, he said, “We don’t know. We saw a notice of amended charges. We don’t know what they are trying to do. They’ve amended the charges once and could do so again, it’s their decision.”