{See Documents}: FG Sues Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Over Live TV Assassination Allegation

The Federal Government has filed a criminal suit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central Senatorial District, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a televised interview.

The suit, filed on 16 May 2025 before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, names Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant. She is accused of “making imputations knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person,” contrary to Section 391 of the Penal Code, Cap. 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990. The offence is punishable under Section 392 of the same code.

According to court filings, the Federal Government is pursuing the charges in response to statements the senator made during her appearance on Politics Today, a current affairs programme aired on Channels Television on 3 April 2025.

Among the key witnesses listed by the prosecution are the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello—both of whom were directly referenced in the senator’s alleged remarks.

In one of the charges, Akpoti-Uduaghan is said to have claimed that:

“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me. 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?”

The Federal Government contends that the senator either knew or had reason to believe that such remarks could seriously damage the reputation of the Senate President.

In a separate count, Akpoti-Uduaghan was also accused of making similarly harmful imputations about former Governor Yahaya Bello during the same broadcast, reiterating claims of an assassination plot involving both men.

Further to these charges, the Federal Government also cited a two-way telephone conversation allegedly held on or about 27 March 2025 between Akpoti-Uduaghan and one Sandra C. Duru, during which the senator reportedly made the following statement about Senator Akpabio:

“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 government asserts that this statement was knowingly harmful to Akpabio’s reputation, and forms part of the broader criminal defamation case now being prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar.

As at the time of filing this report, no date has been fixed for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s arraignment.