Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan receives Senator Akpoti Bail of N50 million after her Abuja arraignment on defamation charges involving top political figures

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Senator Akpoti Bail came today at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, where suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan appeared for her arraignment on alleged defamation charges.

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Representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Akpoti Uduaghan entered the courtroom at approximately 10:30 am, awaiting the presiding judge for a session scheduled to commence at 11:00 am.

Mohammed Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, filed the criminal charge, marked CR/297/25, on behalf of the Federal Government.

The charge names Senator Akpoti Uduaghan as the sole defendant. It accuses her of making defamatory statements against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during a live television broadcast.

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

It alleges that the Senator claimed Bello conspired with Akpabio to orchestrate her assassination outside Abuja, intending to disguise it as a mob or local attack.

The Federal Government states these allegations were 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 they could harm the reputation of the individuals involved.

The charge cites specific statements she allegedly made on the programme. “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?” she purportedly stated.

The charge also references her remarks concerning former Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello during the same broadcast.

It quotes her saying: “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.’”

The prosecution asserts she knew or had reason to believe these imputations would harm Bello’s reputation.

Furthermore, the senator faces accusations 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 is: “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 maintains that Senator Akpoti Uduaghan knew or ought to have known this claim would harm Senator Godswill Akpabio’s reputation. Akpabio, Bello, and four other individuals are listed as witnesses for the trial.

During the proceedings on Thursday, the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja granted Senator Akpoti Uduaghan bail.

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The bail amount stood at N50 million with one surety. The court specified that the surety must be a person of reasonable integrity, resident in the FCT Abuja, and must own a landed property within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.