The Federal Government has formally filed criminal charges against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for allegedly making damaging allegations against the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
Filed under Charge No. CR/1277/25 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, before Honourable Justice C. N. Oji, the three-count charge was brought by the Department of Public Prosecutions on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The government is accusing Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan of making imputations intended to harm reputations, contrary to Section 391 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 392 of the same law.
The first count centres on a televised interview granted by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan on Channels Television’s political programme, “Politics Today”, aired on April 3, 2025.
In the interview, the Senator accused Akpabio of plotting her assassination in collaboration with former governor Yahaya Bello.
She further implied that the withdrawal of her official security details by the Senate upon her suspension was a deliberate plot to make her “vulnerable to attacks,” suggesting an orchestrated attempt on her life.
Prosecutors argue that these public statements were made with knowledge or reason to believe they would damage Senator Akpabio’s reputation. The second count mirrors the first, on the imputation against Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State.
In a third charge, the Federal Government alleges that on March 27, 2025, during a telephone conversation with one Sandra Duru, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan made a horrifying claim implicating Senate President Akpabio in an alleged killing and organ harvesting.
This claim, referencing a real-life murder case that once shocked the nation, is now being legally framed as a malicious and unsubstantiated attack on Senator Akpabio’s character, capable of inciting public outrage and diminishing public confidence in the leadership of the National Assembly.
The government maintains that Senator AkpotiUduaghan acted recklessly and with malicious intent, abusing her public platform to spread defamatory and inflammatory statements that have far-reaching consequences for national peace, security, and democratic integrity.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was not in court as she refused service from bailiffs. Justice Orji, however, ordered that efforts should not be spared in ensuring that she is served before the next adjourned date.
