Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for alleged defamation.
Recall that Akpoti-Uduaghan raised concerns after her Senate seat was reassigned following a reshuffle triggered by opposition members switching to the majority wing.
She resisted the relocation, leading to a confrontation between her and the Senate President.
However, in a suit filed before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, the President of the Senate, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Senior Legislative Aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick, were listed as the second and third defendants.
In the suit, marked CV/737/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, alleged that defamatory statements were made by the Senate President and published by his aide on Facebook.
According to him, the post, titled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?” included a statement suggesting that Akpoti-Uduaghan believed being a lawmaker was only about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”
Giwa argued that the statement was defamatory, provocative, and disparaging, lowering his client’s dignity in the eyes of her colleagues and the public.
He stated:
The Kogi lawmaker also urged the court to restrain the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory statements against her on any platform.
Furthermore, Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the court to order the defendants to pay her N100 billion in general damages and N300 million as litigation costs.
Senator Natasha further confirmed the development in a post shared on her Facebook page on Tuesday evening.
See the copy of the lawsuit filed against Akapbio here:
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that the Senate went into a closed-door session following Senator Ireti Kingibe’s question on why the FCT budget was raised without her input.
Kingibe and the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, have been at odds over the management of FCT affairs, and Wike vowed to unseat her in 2027.
Weighing in on the issue, Akpabio criticised the senator and asked Wike to ignore her during a flag-off ceremony at Kugbo Bus Terminal in the FCT.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
