The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the cybercrime trial of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, to October 20, 2025, following a preliminary objection raised by her legal team.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, arraigned on June 30, faces a six-count charge filed by the Federal Government under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
She is accused of transmitting false and injurious information through electronic platforms, allegedly targeting Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
One of the charges claims that during a gathering in Ihima, Kogi State, on April 1, 2025, the senator said, “Akpabio told Yahaya Bello… He told him that he should make sure that killing me does not happen in Abuja, it should be done here, so it will seem as if it is the people that killed me here.”
Prosecutors argue that the alleged statement damaged the reputations of both Akpabio and Bello.
At Monday’s sitting, prosecution counsel, David Kaswe, told the court that the government was ready to open its case and had its first witness present. A television screen had been mounted in the courtroom in preparation for the proceedings.
However, defence counsel, Ehiogie West-Idahosa, SAN, opposed the move, citing a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
He described the matter as an “abuse of the prosecutorial powers of the Attorney-General of the Federation” and also complained that the defence team had not been served with copies of the prosecution witnesses’ statements.
Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that the court would first determine the objection before proceeding with the trial. “The preliminary objection raised by the defence must be addressed before we move further,” the judge stated, before fixing October 20 for hearing.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on bail granted on self-recognition, has denied wrongdoing.
