THE senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has sued Senate President Godswill Akpabio for defamation.
In the suit, marked CV/737/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, alleged that defamatory statements were made against her by the Senate President and published by his aide on Facebook.
According to her, the post, titled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?” included a statement suggesting she believed being a lawmaker was only about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”
Giwa argued that the statement was defamatory, provocative, and disparaging, lowering his client’s dignity in the eyes of her colleagues and the public.
The ICIR reported that Akpoti-Uduaghan raised concerns on February 20, after her seat in the Senate was reassigned due to a reshuffle caused by opposition members joining the majority wing.
She resisted the relocation, leading to a confrontation between her and the Senate President.
The ICIR reports that the disagreement sparked outrage as Nigerians lambasted Akpabio for the action and described his attitudes towards female senators as not only insulting but a denigration of the female gender and an attempt to stifle female voices.
Among others, Akpoti-Uduaghan is requesting the court to issue, “an order of perpetual injuction 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.”
Additionally, the lawmaker requested the court to compel the defendants to pay N100 billion in general damages and N300 million to cover litigation costs.
The ICIR reports that Akpabio and the female lawmaker had had confrontations in the Senate at least twice.
In July 2024, Akpoti-Uduaghan commented on a motion without Akpabio’s consent. In his attempt to correct her, he said the Senate was not a nightclub where anybody could talk anyhow.
Akpabio bowed to pressure as he apologised to the lawmaker two days later for comparing her conduct in the Senate to that of a nightclub.
Earlier today, this organisation reported that the Senate referred Akpoti-Uduaghan to its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for disciplinary review following the rift between her and Akpabio.
The committee, led by Neda Imaseun, was given two weeks to present its findings.
The decision was made through a voice vote after Yemi Adaramodu raised a motion under Order 1(b) and 10, condemning what he described as Akpoti-Uduaghan’s “extreme intransigence” during the Senate session on February 20.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.