BREAKING: Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Appears in Court Over Defamation Suit

Suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan arrived at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on June 19, 2025, for her arraignment on defamation charges filed by the Federal Government.

The charges, brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions Mohammed Abubakar, allege that during a live television broadcast on April 3, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Governor Yahaya Bello of plotting to assassinate her. She reportedly 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.”

Additionally, she is accused of making defamatory claims during a phone call with Sandra C. Duru on March 27, 2025, alleging that organs from a murdered girl were used for Akpabio’s wife.

The Senate President, Bello, and four others are listed as witnesses in the case, which is ongoing at the FCT High Court.