[Developing] Natasha arrives in court for arraignment for alleged defamation
The suspended Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has arrived at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, in Abuja for her arraignment for alleged defamation.
Akpoti-Uduaghan entered the courtroom at approximately 10:30 a.m., ahead of the session scheduled to commence at 11:00 a.m., awaiting the entrance of the presiding judge.
The charge was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Government against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In the criminal charge, marked CR/297/25, the Federal Government accuses Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, the sole defendant, of making defamatory statements against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during a live television broadcast.
The charge listed the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, as nominal complainants.
It alleged that the Senator claimed Bello had conspired with Akpabio to orchestrate her assassination outside Abuja, disguising it as a mob or local attack.
According to the federal government, these allegations were made during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on April 3, 2025.
The FG argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan knowingly or recklessly made these imputations, fully aware that they could harm the reputation of the individuals involved.
She was alleged to have 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. 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 also cited her statements during the programme, “That you, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on or about the 3rd day of April 2025, during the same Politics Today programme on Channels Television in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, made the following imputation concerning Yahaya Adoza Bello, former Governor of Kogi State.
‘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.’
“You knew or had reason to believe that such imputations would harm the reputation of Yahaya Adoza Bello, former Governor of Kogi State.”
The senator was also accused of making defamatory statements about Senate President Akpabio during a telephone conversation with Sandra C. Duru in Abuja on 27 March 2025. The alleged statement is as follows:
“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 Federal Government contended that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan knew or ought to have known that this claim would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Additionally, Akpabio, Bello, and four others have been listed as witnesses for the trial.
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