Defamation: Natasha pleads not guilty

By Paul Dada

The suspended senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has pleaded not guilty to the  defamation charge brought against her by the Federal Government.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was arraigned on Thursday before Justice Chizoba Orji  of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

She is facing charges filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Government.

The charge, marked CR/297/25, accuses Akpoti-Uduaghan of making defamatory statements against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

The Federal Government says she claimed that Bello had conspired with Akpabio to orchestrate her assassination.

The alleged defamatory statements were made during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025, and in a telephone conversation with Sandra C. Duru on March 27, 2025.

The Federal Government argues that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan deliberately made the claims being fully aware that they could harm the reputation of the individuals involved.

Senate President Akpabio, Yahaya Bello, and four others have been listed as witnesses in the suit.

More details later