Nigeria’s political landscape is bracing for a significant legal confrontation as Senate President Godswill Akpabio has filed a staggering ₦200 billion defamation lawsuit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central. The lawsuit stems from Akpoti-Uduaghan’s public allegations of sexual harassment against the Senate President, setting the stage for one of the most consequential legal battles in recent memory.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan confirmed on Friday, December 5, 2025, that she received formal notice of the suit, marked Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/3356/2025, filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Filed by Akpabio through an ex parte motion, the lawsuit claims that Akpoti-Uduaghan defamed the Senate President by accusing him of sexual harassment. The matter is currently before Hon. Justice U. P. Kekemeke and has been adjourned to January 21, 2026, for further proceedings.

Akpabio’s legal team asserts that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s interviews, aired on television, radio, and widely circulated online, maliciously portrayed the Senate President as a predator who exploited his position for personal gratification. According to court filings, these allegations—broadcast across major media platforms and amplified by millions online—subjected Akpabio to “national humiliation, ridicule, and grave reputational injury.” He is seeking extensive remedies from the court, including massive financial damages, the deletion of all online publications containing the claims, and compulsory apologies to be aired repeatedly on national television, radio, and digital platforms for several consecutive days.

Court documents reveal that Akpabio, through an ex parte application dated December, sought leave to serve court papers on Akpoti-Uduaghan via substituted means. This request was granted by Justice Kekemeke on November 6, 2025, after initial attempts at direct service were unsuccessful. The order allowed the claimant to deliver all originating and subsequent processes, including hearing notices, to any staff in the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly at the Three Arms Zone, Abuja. The suit, accompanied by Motion No. M/12725/2025, specifically outlines this mode of service to ensure the case proceeds.

In her resolute response, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan welcomed the lawsuit, stating it finally provides the platform she believes was deliberately denied to her by the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges. She alleged that the Ethics Committee failed to grant her an audience on the issue, relying on the premise that Akpabio’s wife had already instituted a defamatory case against her, thus precluding the committee from addressing a matter already in court. Akpoti-Uduaghan further insisted that Senate rules previously barred her from initiating court action, mandating her to first present her complaint before the very Ethics Committee that had, in her view, recommended her “illegal suspension.”

Expressing her readiness for the legal battle, Akpoti-Uduaghan declared, “I’m ready to prove everything.” She affirmed that the court case now offers her the long-awaited opportunity to fully lay out her allegations, promising to demonstrate how she was sexually harassed and how her refusal to comply with Akpabio’s alleged demands unleashed a series of “unprovoked and unprecedented attacks” or “sustained political intimidation and retaliation” on her person. Her message to the Senate President was unambiguous: “See you in court, Godswill Akpabio.”

Beyond its immediate personal implications for the two senators, the explosive case is anticipated to significantly challenge the Nigerian political system’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations lodged at the highest levels of public office. With both sides reportedly preparing witness lists, extensive documents, and media records, all attention will now shift to the FCT High Court as this high-stakes legal confrontation begins to unfold.