The Federal Government has arraigned Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, on three counts of criminal defamation relating to allegations made against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi governor Yahaya Bello.

The arraignment took place on Thursday before Justice Chizoba Orji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court. The courtroom was heavily guarded, with notable public figures such as former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili and activist Aisha Yesufu present in a show of solidarity alongside the senator’s husband and numerous supporters.

The charges stem from comments the senator allegedly made during a televised interview and a separate private phone conversation, which the government claims were intended to damage reputations in violation of sections 391 and 392 of the Penal Code, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.

In one of the charges, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of stating that the Senate President and Yahaya Bello plotted her assassination. “It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me,” she was quoted as saying in the interview. She further claimed that her security detail was withdrawn to render her vulnerable, stating: “He then emphasized that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.”

Count two reiterates the charge of making harmful imputations, while the third count references a two-way phone conversation with one Sandra C. Duru, in which the senator reportedly repeated similar claims about Akpabio.

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