Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, was granted bail in the sum of N50 million by the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja.
The Senator, who appeared in court on Thursday accompanied by her husband, is facing a three-count criminal charge bordering on alleged defamatory statements against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
Justice Chizoba Orji, the trial judge, delivered the ruling after considering arguments from both the prosecution and the defense regarding the bail application. The bail conditions stipulate that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan must provide one surety of reasonable integrity, resident within the Federal Capital Territory, and owning a landed property within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
The Attorney General of the Federation, in charge number CR/297/25, accuses Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan of making false and harmful statements during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on April 3, 2025. The charge alleges that the Senator claimed Senator Akpabio conspired with Yahaya Bello to orchestrate her assassination, to be disguised as a mob or local attack outside Abuja.L
According to the Federal Government, these allegations were made with the knowledge or reckless disregard that they could damage the reputations of the individuals involved. The prosecution highlighted specific statements attributed to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan during the broadcast, including:
“Let’s ask the Senate President, why in the first instance did he withdraw my security, if not to make me vulnerable to attacks? He then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi. What is important to me is to stay alive, because dead men tell no tales. Who is going to get justice for me?”
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night, to eliminate me. When he met with him, he then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi,” she had stated.
The Senator is also accused of making defamatory statements about Senate President Akpabio during a telephone conversation with one Sandra C. Duru on March 27, 2025, in Abuja.
The alleged statement in question is: “That girl that was killed, Imoren Iniubong, her organs were actually used for the wife, because the wife was really ill… when they killed the girl, and her organs were used for the wife.” The Federal Government contends that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan knew or ought to have known that this claim would harm Senator Akpabio’s reputation.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was previously unable to be arraigned due to the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria’s strike action, pleaded not guilty to all three charges after they were read to her in court.
Her legal team, led by Professor Roland Otaru (SAN), presented a bail application dated May 27, 2025, to the court. However, the Attorney General of the Federation’s counsel, David Kaswe, opposed the bail application, referencing a counter-affidavit filed to that effect. Kaswe argued for the Senator’s remand in a correctional facility, citing a potential flight risk.
Professor Otaru, in response, emphasized that the court has the discretion to grant bail, even on self-recognition, particularly as the case does not involve a capital offense. He further invoked the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, asserting that “anybody who is charged for a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty.” He underscored that as Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had pleaded not guilty, she remains innocent until proven otherwise.
Senate President Akpabio, former Governor Bello, and four others have been listed as witnesses for the prosecution in the ongoing trial. It was noted that a similar matter involving Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is also before Justice Muhammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where previous attempts to serve her with court documents were unsuccessful. The prosecution’s application for a bench warrant in that matter was previously refused by the court.
