Akpoti-Uduaghan Files Fresh Petition against Akpabio, Duru for Defamation, Others

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Senator representing Kogi Central at the National Assembly, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a fresh petition against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The petition dated May 15, was addressed separately to both the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector General (IG) of Police.

Also mentioned in the petition was one Sandra Duru, accused of malicious campaign of criminal defamation, cyber-stalking, conspiracy, and attempted assassination against Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The petition which was filed on behalf of Akpoti-Uduaghan, by her lawyer, Dr Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN), specifically called on the police to “painstakingly investigate the contents of this Petition and ensure that justice is expeditiously dispensed to all who may be found wanting regardless of their status in the Nigerian society”.

Akpoti-Uduaghan is currently under suspension from the Senate for six months for allegedly violating the Senate Rules. The alleged violation was said to have occurred when she refused to vacate her seat following reallocation of her seat on the floor of the red chamber.

But, the Kogi senator has been claiming to be a victim of sexual harassment.

Her lawyer stated that the petition which is supported by incontrovertible evidence from public broadcasts, witness testimonies, media reports, and expert analyses, demonstrates “a deliberate retaliatory campaign by Akpabio, using proxies and resources at his disposal.

The senior lawyer claimed that a smear campaign against the female Kogi senator started shortly after her sexual harassment claim and suspension, stating.

“Our client observed a sudden surge of defamatory propaganda against her on social media and in certain press outlets,” the petition alleged.

West-Idahosa added that evidence now shows that it was no organic backlash, but a coordinated smear campaign sponsored by Akpabio as a form of revenge.

“A key figure in this campaign is one Dr. Sandra Chidinma Duru, a Texas-based Nigerian who styles herself as “Professor (Prof.) Mgbeke” on Facebook. It is pertinent to highlight further evidence demonstrating the operational nexus between Senator Godswill Akpabio and Dr. Sandra Duru.

“As inadvertently revealed during her live broadcast of May 1, 2025, Dr. Duru’s call log displayed multiple contacts, including “My Daddy Directline,” “IGP Kayode,” “Senator Akpabio” (with at least two saved numbers), “Oby Ndukwe” (the media aide to the Senate President, who later appeared on Politics Today with Seun Okinbaloye to publicly condemn our client), and “CP Imo Aboki Danjuma” as well as “Senator Ned Nwoko”, the petition added.

He argued that the presence of these names, particularly those occupying high-level positions within Nigeria’s security architecture, strongly suggests that Akpabio and Duru were acting in concert, possibly with the support or knowledge of certain police officials.

“This revelation further strengthens our client’s position that the defamatory campaign and associated threats were not the isolated acts of a rogue individual, but the product of a coordinated effort involving Senator Akpabio and his political and security network, intended to discredit, harass, and endanger her”, he added.

Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Duru of malicious falsehoods in her May 1, broadcast, despite knowing them to be false and with the intent to harm her reputation and even put her in jeopardy of charges against the state.

“Duru falsely alleged that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan confessed to plotting a coup against the government. She claimed our client’s real agenda was to ‘force the Senate President to step down so that they will have their way to remove what they call the Yoruba government.

“And that ‘the fight was not really about the Senate President, but about the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, they don’t want a Yoruba government to go beyond four years.

“In other words, Duru painted our client as part of an ethnic cabal conspiring to topple the current administration (headed by a Yoruba president). This is an utterly baseless and inflammatory accusation meant to stir public enmity and invite state persecution.

“Indeed, whistleblower Francess Olisa-Ogbonnaya, who later reviewed Duru’s source audio clips, confirmed that ‘nowhere in the clips’ did Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan say anything about ‘wanting to bring down the Yoruba government.’

“ The very notion was implausible, as Ms. Ogbonnaya noted: ‘How do you think Sen. Natasha will bring down the Yoruba government? A Kogi person is a minority… they don’t have alliances like that.

“This emphatic debunking demonstrates that Duru’s treason narrative was a complete fiction,” the petition added.