The suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, arrived at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday for her arraignment over alleged defamatory statements against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
Akpoti-Uduaghan entered the courtroom at approximately 10:30 a.m., ahead of the 11:00 a.m. scheduled hearing amid heavy security at the court premises.
The case, marked CR/297/25, was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Government.
The charge sheet alleges that during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed that Bello conspired with Akpabio to orchestrate her assassination outside Abuja, disguising it as a mob attack.
The prosecution contends that she knowingly made these statements to damage their reputations, quoting her as saying:
“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?”
The charge further cites her remarks:
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night, to eliminate me. When he met with him, he then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.”
The Federal Government maintains that she “knew or had reason to believe that such imputations would harm the reputation” of both Akpabio and Bello.
The case also includes a separate defamation charge stemming from a March 27, 2025, phone conversation between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Sandra C. Duru, where she allegedly claimed:
“That girl that was killed, what’s her name, umm Imoren Iniubong, her organs were actually used for the wife, because the wife was really ill… when they killed the girl, and her organs were used for the wife.”
The prosecution argues that this statement was reckless and intended to tarnish Akpabio’s reputation.
Akpabio, Bello, and four others have been listed as witnesses in the case. The trial is expected to proceed as the court determines the validity of the charges.
The arraignment marks a significant escalation in the political feud between Akpoti-Uduaghan and the high-profile figures she accused. The case has drawn widespread attention, given its implications for free speech, political retaliation, and defamation laws in Nigeria.
