Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has arrived at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, for her arraignment on a three-count charge of alleged defamation.
Naijaonpoint reports that the senator, who walked into the courtroom at exactly 10:30 a.m., arrived ahead of the session, which was scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. She calmly took her seat, awaiting the arrival of the trial judge.
The criminal case, marked CR/297/25, was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Government.
In the charge, the FG accuses Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan of defaming Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello during a live broadcast of Politics Today on Channels Television on April 3, 2025.
The charge sheet lists Akpabio and Bello as nominal complainants in the case.
According to the charge, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly accused the two politicians of plotting her assassination.
She was quoted as saying during the broadcast, “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 also allegedly stated that, “It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night, to eliminate me.”
The Federal Government contends that the senator made these comments knowing they would injure the reputation of both Akpabio and Bello.
The senator is further accused of making another damning claim during a telephone conversation with one Sandra C. Duru on March 27, 2025.
According to the charge, “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 insists that Akpoti-Uduaghan knew or should have known that such a statement would gravely harm Senator Akpabio’s reputation.
The government is expected to call at least six witnesses, including Akpabio, Bello, and four other individuals, to testify during the trial.