An Abuja Federal High Court rejected the FG’s bid to arrest Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for alleged defamation, citing lack of proper service. Arraignment set for June 30

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]kpoti-Uduaghan Arraignment in an alleged defamation suit faced a setback on Monday as the Federal High Court in Abuja rejected the Federal Government’s request for an arrest warrant against the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Also read: Akpoti-Uduaghan to face trial June 19 over false claim allegations

The request was made following her failure to appear in court for arraignment.

Justice Muhammed Umar, the presiding judge, delivered this ruling after the federal government’s counsel, David Kaswe, informed the court that the charge had only been served on her lawyer earlier that very morning in the courtroom.

Justice Umar firmly stated that since the senator had not previously been served with the charge or a hearing notice, it was inconceivable for her to have appeared in court. On this basis, he refused the prosecution’s application for a bench warrant.

The Federal Government’s counsel, however, argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan should have been aware of her arraignment given that her legal counsel had been served.

The judge, in response, dismissed this argument, stating that merely serving the charge on her legal counsel was not sufficient to presume the senator’s awareness of the arraignment.

Following the court’s ruling, the prosecution applied for substituted service of the charge through her counsel, Johnson Usman. The application was granted, and the court subsequently scheduled her arraignment for June 30.

The criminal charge was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Government.

Senator Akpoti-Uduagahn is named as the sole defendant in the suit. The FG accuses her of making defamatory statements during a live television broadcast.

The charge names Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello as the nominal complainants.

It alleges that Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Bello of conspiring with Akpabio to orchestrate her assassination outside Abuja and frame it as a mob or local attack.

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?

These serious allegations were purportedly made during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.

The Federal Government contends that Akpoti-Uduaghan knowingly or recklessly made these imputations, fully aware that they could harm the reputation of the individuals involved.

She is alleged to have stated, “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 cites 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.”

Furthermore, the senator is accused of making defamatory statements about Senate President Akpabio during a telephone conversation with Sandra C. Duru in Abuja on March 27, 2025.

The alleged statement reads, “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.”

Also read: Judiciary strike stalls Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s defamation arraignment

The Federal Government maintains that Akpoti-Uduaghan knew or ought to have known that this claim would harm the reputation of Akpabio. The Senate President, Bello, and four others have been listed as witnesses for the trial.