The Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has sued the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for alleged defamation.
This followed a drama that ensued in the Senate, which saw Akpoti-Uduaghan lamenting that the new sitting arrangement in the chambers was unfavourable to her.
She also raised concerns that her contributions at plenary were not given attention by Akpabio, who cited her refusal to speak from her assigned seat as the reason.
Akpabio and the Senior Legislative Aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick, have now been listed as the first and second defendants, respectively, in a suit marked CV/737/25, filed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on February 25, 2025.
According to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Victor Giwa, Akpabio made a defamatory statement, which was published by his aide on social media.
Giwa said the statement alleged that Akpoti-Uduaghan believed being a lawmaker was only about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”
He stated, “A DECLARATION that the words, ‘It is bottled anger by the Kogi lawmaker, who knows nothing about legislative rules. She thinks being a lawmaker is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers,’ used and written by the third defendant at the prompting of the first and second defendants, is defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection toward the claimant.”
He then urged the court to restrain the defendants from making further defamatory statements about the Kogi Senator.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the defendants, whether acting by themselves or through their agents, privies, assigns, or associates, from further publishing or causing to be published the said defamatory words or any similar publications about the claimant on social media or in any other manner capable of defaming her,” he stated.
He then demanded N100 billion in general damages and N300 million as litigation costs from the defendants.
“An order for the payment of the sum of N100,000,000,000 as general damages. An order for the payment of the sum of N300,000,000 as the cost of action,” he added.
