The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, has granted bail to the suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in the sum of N50 million.
This development followed her arraignment by the Federal Government on a three-count charge bordering on alleged defamation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
Delivering the ruling on Thursday, Justice Chizoba Orji dismissed the Federal Government’s request to remand the lawmaker in prison custody pending the outcome of the trial. The judge held that there was sufficient indication that the defendant was ready to face trial and found no compelling reason to deny her bail.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered that Akpoti-Uduaghan must produce one surety, someone of reputable integrity who owns landed property within Abuja. The decision, the court said, was in line with the provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and Sections 163 and 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
Justice Orji subsequently adjourned the case until September 23, when full trial proceedings are scheduled to begin.
The Federal Government is prosecuting Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan on charges of making allegedly false claims that Akpabio and Bello plotted to assassinate her. The claims were reportedly made during a live interview on Politics Today, a political programme aired on Channels Television.
The charge, identified as CR/297/25, accuses the senator of deliberately making imputations that she either knew or had reason to believe would harm the reputations of the individuals named. According to the Federal Government, such conduct violates Section 391 of the Penal Code, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, and is punishable under Section 392 of the same law.
Specifics of the offence in the first count of the charge state that on April 3, 2025, during her appearance on live television, Akpoti-Uduaghan defamed both the Senate President and the former Kogi governor.
Akpabio and Bello have been named as nominal complainants and are listed among the witnesses expected to testify during the trial. Other witnesses include Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, two police investigators—Maya Iliya and Abdulhafiz Garba—and one Sandra Duru.
This court proceeding follows closely on the heels of a separate legal challenge Akpoti-Uduaghan is pursuing against her six-month suspension from the Senate. That matter is currently pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja, which has fixed June 27 to rule on the legality of the disciplinary measures taken against her.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended after a heated exchange with Senate President Akpabio during plenary on February 20. She had raised a point of order multiple times to protest what she described as an unjust alteration of her seating arrangement, despite being overruled. Her actions were later referred to the Senate’s Ethics Committee.
In an interview granted on February 28, she claimed that her issues in the Senate began after she turned down romantic advances from the Senate President. She subsequently petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation, accusing the police of bias in handling her complaints against Akpabio.
Her ex-parte application filed at the Federal High Court also seeks to nullify any action taken by the Senate committee while her suit challenging her suspension remains pending. The senator is asking the court to declare all such proceedings, including her suspension, as null and void.
As this legal saga continues to unfold, all eyes remain on the judiciary, with both the defamation case and the suspension challenge poised to test the intersection of political power, legal accountability, and civil liberties in Nigeria’s democracy.
What You Should Know
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been granted bail in the sum of N50 million by an FCT High Court after being arraigned for allegedly defaming Senate President Godswill Akpabio and ex-Governor Yahaya Bello.
Her trial is set to begin on September 23, while a separate case on her suspension from the Senate is pending at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
