SENATOR NATASHA AKPOTI-UDUAGHAN APPEARS IN COURT WITH HUSBAND OVER ARRAIGNMENT FOR ALLEGED DEFAMATION
Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Wednesday appeared before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja for her arraignment on a three-count charge bordering on alleged defamation.
The Federal Government is prosecuting the lawmaker over statements she allegedly made against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
According to the charge, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making defamatory statements with intent to harm the reputation of both men, an offence said to contravene Section 391 and punishable under Section 392 of the Penal Code, CAP 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
One of the charges stems from a televised interview in which the Senator alleged that both Akpabio and Bello conspired to eliminate her.
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me… He then emphasized that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi,” she was quoted as saying.
She also alleged that the Senate President withdrew her security details to make her vulnerable to attacks.
The prosecution further claims that she repeated similar assertions during a phone conversation with one Sandra C. Duru in Abuja on March 27, 2025.
Tight security was observed around the court premises as the lawmaker arrived with her husband. Also present were notable figures including former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, and prominent activist Aisha Yesufu, alongside scores of supporters who turned up in solidarity.
Both Akpabio and Yahaya Bello have been listed as witnesses and are expected to testify in the course of the trial.
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