Senate President Godswill Akpabio has filed a fresh N200 billion defamation suit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, escalating an already tense political standoff in the 10th Senate.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, revealed the development in a Facebook post on Friday, sharing the court document from suit number FCT/HC/CV/3356/2025, filed before Justice U. P. Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
The senator said the lawsuit now provides an opening for her to finally present her case before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, which she said had previously refused to entertain her petition.
In the suit, Akpabio accuses her of making “false, malicious, and injurious” allegations that portrayed him as a “sexual predator” and exposed him to “public hatred, contempt, and ridicule.”
The Senate President is seeking monetary damages, public retractions, and broadcast apologies across major media platforms.
The court had earlier granted an order for substituted service on November 6 after bailiffs were unable to serve Akpoti-Uduaghan directly. The documents were consequently delivered through the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Confirming receipt, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she is prepared for a full trial, adding that the proceedings will finally give her the platform she was denied in the Senate.
She posted: “I’m in receipt of the newly instituted N200bn suit against me by Senator Godswill Akpabio claiming defamation on sexual harassment… I now have a chance to prove how I was sexually harassed and how my refusal to give in to his demands unleashed a series of unprovoked and unprecedented attacks on my person. See you in court, Godswill Akpabio.”
Her response immediately rekindled public debate over the deepening hostilities in the upper chamber. Analysts say the lawsuit marks one of the most consequential confrontations between a Senate President and a sitting senator in recent years.
This newspaper had earlier reported that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months in March 2025 after protesting the relocation of her seat during plenary.
She repeatedly accused Akpabio of targeting her and, at one point, described him as a “dictator.”
Although her suspension elapsed in September, her return was delayed by legal hurdles and what she described as internal resistance from Senate leadership. Her office, sealed during her suspension, was eventually reopened by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Upon her return, she declared she had “no apology to tender,” insisting that attempts were being made to silence dissenting voices in the chamber.
With both senators now heading to court, the feud has once again captured national attention, setting the stage for a high-profile legal showdown.