Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge the federal government slammed against her for allegedly making a false assassination claim.
The case centers on a statement she made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on April 3, 2024. According to the charge, she accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, of plotting to assassinate her.
The Federal Government said the allegation was false and damaged the image of both men.
In the case marked CR/297/25, the government stated that her comment qualifies as criminal defamation under section 391 of the Penal Code and is punishable under section 392. The prosecution noted that the accusation was made with the knowledge that it could harm reputations.
After reading the charges, government lawyer David Kaswe asked the court to place the senator in prison custody while the case continues. He argued that she may flee and that she had not been easy to locate during the process of serving the court papers.
But Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Roland Otaru, SAN, pushed back. He asked the court to allow his client to go on bail based on her own identity.
He pointed out that she is a sitting senator with responsibilities across five local government areas and said the charge is not severe enough to deny her bail. He also noted that the maximum sentence, if found guilty, is two years.
The prosecution has listed several witnesses for the trial. These include Senate President Godswill Akpabio, former Governor Yahaya Bello, two police officers—Maya Iliya and Abdulhafiz Garba—a fellow senator, Asuquo Ekpenyong, and one Sandra Duru.
The charge against her came shortly after she wrote to the Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN. In that letter, she claimed the police were biased while handling her petition against the Senate President.
This legal case is unfolding at the same time as another matter involving Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension from the Senate.
That separate case is being handled by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which has set June 27 as the date to decide whether the suspension was lawful.
Her suspension came after a confrontation during Senate plenary on February 20. She had protested a change in her seat and continued to raise points of order even after being overruled by the Senate President. The issue was then passed to the Senate Ethics Committee.
In a February 28 TV interview, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that her problems in the Senate began after she rejected advances from the Senate President.
She later filed a request asking the court to cancel any actions taken against her while her legal challenge to the suspension is still being heard.
