Defamation: Natasha arraigned over allegations against Akpabio, Bello | Prestige News

The court proceedings are expected to test the boundaries between free speech and criminal defamation in Nigeria’s volatile political climate.

Suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, was arraigned before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday, June 19, over allegations of defamation against top political figures.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who arrived at the court around 10:30 a.m., is facing a one-count criminal charge filed by the Federal Government through the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar.

The charge, marked CR/297/25, stems from statements allegedly made by the senator during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.

In the televised interview, the senator accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello of plotting her assassination.

“Let’s ask the Senate President why, in the first instance did he withdrew my security, if not to make me vulnerable to attacks?” she reportedly said during the interview.

“He then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.”

The Federal Government contends that these allegations were made “knowingly or recklessly,” and were capable of harming the reputation of the named individuals, describing the statements as both defamatory and injurious to their public image.

Akpabio and Bello are listed in the court documents as nominal complainants in the case.

The charge underscores increasing political tensions, with Akpoti-Uduaghan, a vocal opposition figure, now at the centre of a high-profile criminal prosecution.

The court proceedings are expected to test the boundaries between free speech and criminal defamation in Nigeria’s volatile political climate.

As the trial unfolds, the political implications, particularly the inclusion of a sitting Senate President and a former governor, are expected to draw widespread public and legal scrutiny.

Culled from Pulse.ng