Suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is scheduled to appear before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday, following a summons issued in connection with criminal defamation charges.
Her lead counsel, West Idahosa (SAN), confirmed the development on Sunday but noted uncertainty over whether the Federal Government intends to formally arraign her during the appearance.
“If the case is called tomorrow, we will respond accordingly with our client,” Idahosa stated.
He dismissed any suggestion of civil unrest or public demonstration in response to the case, emphasizing that legal strategy, not protests, remains their focus.
“The issue of protest is irrelevant to us — we are lawyers, and our focus is on defending charges we believe can be contested. Protests are the domain of civil societies and others in that terrain,” he said.
“Our client is a law-abiding citizen. Why wouldn’t she be there? It’s a summons we have undertaken. Only disrespectful institutions that disregard court orders would fail to appear, and she is not in that category,” he added.
The Federal Government, acting through the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, filed a series of criminal charges against Akpoti-Uduaghan on May 16, 2025. The case, marked CR/297/25, alleges that the suspended senator made defamatory statements targeting the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
The charges cite two key incidents: an April 3, 2025 appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television and a private telephone conversation dated March 27, 2025.
In the television broadcast, Akpoti-Uduaghan is quoted as saying:
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night— to eliminate me… he then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi.”
Additionally, prosecutors claim she made further defamatory remarks in a private phone call with Dr. Sandra Duru, in which she allegedly linked Akpabio to an organ harvesting operation involving the late Iniubong Umoren, reportedly for the benefit of his ailing wife.
Akpabio, Bello, and four other individuals have been listed as key witnesses in the trial.
