FG Sues Akpoti-Uduaghan over Assassination Allegations against Akpabio, Bello

•As suspended senator begs AGF to take over pending petitions 

•Says police investigation unfairly stunted

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The federal government has filed a three-count criminal charge against the senator for Kogi Central Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The suit dated May 15, 2025, but filed May 16, by Director, Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. M. B. Abubakar, accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of making statements that would harm the reputation of a person.

According to the charge, the Kogi senator, who is currently under suspension from the senate, made the alleged harmful statement during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, aired on Channels Television on April 3, 2025 wherein she was said to have accused the senate president, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello of plotting to assassinate her.

While the federal government is the complainant in the suit, Akpoti-Uduaghan is the sole defendant.

In count one of the charge, the Kogi senator was accused of, “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person, contrary to Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, and punishable under Section 392 of the same Law”.

According to the charge, the defendant had on or about April 3, 2025, during a live studio interview programme, “Politics Today”, aired on Channels Television in Abuja, made the following imputation concerning Akpabio, which include: “It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night… to eliminate me.”

“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.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan was in count two accused of making similar imputation concerning the immediate former governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello.

Some of the statements the defendant was said to have made during the April 3 broadcast included: “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 but I should be killed in Kogi…”

The federal government alleged that the defendant knew or had reason to believe that such imputation would harm the reputation of Bello.

In count three the federal government claimed that Akpoti-Uduaghan had on or about March 27, 2025, during a two-way telephone conversation with one Sandra C. Duru in Abuja, “made the following imputation concerning Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON, to wit:

“That girl that was killed, what’s her name, umm 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 complainant claimed that Akpoti-Uduaghan knew or had reason to believe that such imputation would harm the reputation of Akpabio.

Both Akpabio and Bello who are nominal complainants in the suit were listed as witnesses.

Others were Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong, Dr Sandra Duru, ACP Maya Ilya, and SP Abdulhafiz Garba.

Meanwhile, Akpoti-Uduaghan called on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to use the powers conferred on his office to take over several of her petitions pending at the Nigeria Police.

She predicated her call on the alleged refusal of the police to look into the petitions she made against Akpabio and the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Bello.

The senator, who is currently serving a six months’ suspension from the senate, lamented that while the petition made by Akpabio against her had been treated with the speed of light, hers had been abandoned with no hope in sight for consideration by the police.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s complaints against the police were contained in a letter she wrote the AGF, through her team of lawyers led by Ehiogie West-Idahosa.

The letter dated May 19, but received by the AGF on May 20, is titled: “Failure to Investigate the Petitions Submitted by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Nigeria Police Force.”

The senator in the letter specifically accused the police of refusal or neglect to impartially investigate the numerous petitions she sent to the police.

Among the said petitions included that of threat to personal security; unlawful withdrawal of police security detail and immediate safety concerns; and petition on conspiracy/plot to assassinate Akpoti-Uduaghan by Akpabio and Bello.

Idahosa-West told the AGF, “Since the submissions of the said petitions, the police has failed or neglected to obtain the statement of our client’s witnesses in respect of the petitions as part of the overall investigation of the said cases.”

He claimed that the obvious unwillingness of the police to thoroughly and impartially investigate the petitions was due to the high political office occupied by Akpabio.

The letter read in part, “On April 3, Akpabio wrote a petition against Akpoti-Uduaghan for false accusation, criminal defamation and incitement, Akpoti-Uduaghan made a statement under caution and adopted three petitions referred to above as part of her statement and indicated to the police that she had witnesses to support her case, till date the petitions referred have not been included in the case file and witnesses have not been interviewed. “

She urged the AGF to, “in exercise of the powers conferred in the office by Section 105(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, request for the affected case files from the Nigeria Police Force, for the purpose of reviewing same in order to ensure that justice is well dispensed to our client in the circumstances”.