FG sues senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for alleged defamation, Akpabio and Bello to testify
The Federal Government has filed a defamation suit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, over alleged damaging statements made during a live television broadcast.
The suit, instituted on May 16, 2025, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, lists Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant. According to court filings, the lawmaker is accused of making imputations “knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person,” contrary to Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, CAP 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990. The offence is punishable under Section 392 of the same code.
As part of the proceedings, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello have been listed as witnesses and are expected to testify during the trial.
One of the charges stems from Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation, during an April 3, 2025, appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television, where she claimed that Akpabio and Bello held discussions to “eliminate” her. “It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me,” she allegedly said. “He then emphasized that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.”
The government maintains that such comments were made with the knowledge they could damage the reputations of both men.
In a separate charge, Akpoti-Uduaghan was accused of making further defamatory remarks during a March 27, 2025, phone conversation with one Sandra C. Duru. The senator allegedly claimed that organs of late job-seeker Iniubong Umoren were used to treat Akpabio’s wife—an allegation the government describes as deeply injurious and false.
The charges were filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was earlier suspended from the Senate on March 6 for alleged gross misconduct after a confrontation with the Senate President over seating arrangements.
No date has yet been fixed for her arraignment.
