Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, appeared at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday for arraignment over alleged defamation.
Akpoti-Uduaghan arrived at the court along with her husband, Emmanuel Uduaghan around 10:30 a.m., ahead of the commencement of proceedings in the case brought against her by the Federal Government.
The charge, marked CR/297/25, was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, acting on behalf of the government. In the suit, the government accuses the lawmaker of making defamatory statements against Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a live television broadcast.
According to court filings, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, are listed as nominal complainants in the matter. The prosecution alleges that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on April 3, 2025, accused both men of conspiring to orchestrate her assassination and making it appear as an attack by local assailants.
The Federal Government claims the Senator’s comments were made with full knowledge of their potential to harm the reputations of the complainants.
During the broadcast, Akpoti-Uduaghan had said:
“Let’s ask the Senate President why in the first instance did he withdraw my security, if not to make me vulnerable to attacks?
“He then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi. What is important to me is to stay alive because dead men tell no tales. Who is going to get justice for me?”
Joining Akpoti-Uduaghan in court on Thursday were former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili and activist Aisha Yesufu.
