Akpoti-Uduaghan Heads to Court Tuesday as FG Pursues Defamation Case
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, who was suspended by the Nigerian Senate in March, will appear before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday following a summons over criminal defamation charges filed by the Federal Government.
Her lead counsel, West Idahosa (SAN), confirmed her court appearance in a phone interview with Punch Newspapers on Sunday, stating that her legal team was prepared to defend her.
“If the case is called tomorrow, we will respond accordingly with our client,” Idahosa said. “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.”
The Federal Government, through the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, had on May 16 filed a criminal suit (CR/297/25) against Akpoti-Uduaghan, accusing her of making defamatory remarks about Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello.
Also Read: Federal Government Sues Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for Alleged Defamation on Live TV
The suit cited a live appearance on Politics Today on Channels TV on April 3, where she allegedly claimed:
“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.”
In another count, the government referenced a March 27 phone conversation with Dr. Sandra Duru, in which Akpoti-Uduaghan purportedly said Akpabio was involved in organ harvesting linked to the late Iniubong Umoren.
Akpabio, Bello, and four others are expected to serve as key witnesses in the trial.
“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,” Idahosa added.
