By Nathaniel Zacchaeus
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central District of Kogi State in the National Assembly, has filed a lawsuit against the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for alleged defamation.
Akpoti-Uduaghan raised concerns after her Senate seat was reassigned following a reshuffle triggered by opposition members switching to the majority wing.
She resisted the relocation, leading to a confrontation between her and the Senate President.
However, in a suit filed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on February 25, 2025, the President of the Senate, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Senior Legislative Aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick, were listed as the second and third defendants.
This came as senators yesterday passed a vote of confidence in the Senate President, Akpabio, over his leadership style.
However, in the suit, marked CV/737/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, alleged that the Senate President made defamatory statements and his aide published them on Facebook.
According to him, the post, titled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?” included a statement suggesting that Akpoti-Uduaghan 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.
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.”
She also urged the court to restrain the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory statements against her on any platform.
“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,” she stated.
Furthermore, Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the court to order the defendants to pay her N100 billion in general damages and N300m as litigation costs.
“An order for the payment 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,” she prayed.
*Senate refers Natasha’s case on seat relocation altercation to ethics committee, passes confidence vote in Akpabio
The Senate revisited the issue that led to a rowdy session last week and asked its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, chaired by Senator Neda Imasuen, to investigate the matter.
The senators also voted to support Senate President Godswill Akpabio over his leadership style.
The upper chamber’s resolutions followed a point of order, bothering on privileges moved by the Senate spokesperson, Adeyemi Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
Adaramodu, in his point of order, drew the attention of his colleagues to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s action last Thursday. She caused a rowdy session during plenary while protesting the sudden change of her seat without her knowledge.
He noted that Akpoti-Uduaghan erred by raising her voice while protesting the rearrangement of seats in the red chamber, thereby creating the wrong impression that mainstream and social media commentators had been discussing the matter since last week.
Adaramodu stated that the uproar caused by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s challenges to the Senate President over her seat allocation had severely damaged the Senate’s reputation.
He said Akpoti-Uduaghan openly defied the Senate President by reading a point of order despite being ruled out of order.
He mentioned that he had been visiting various media organizations to explain the Senate’s position on the matter,
He emphasised that it was difficult to restore an image shattered by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s actions regarding a simple issue like seat reallocation and committee chairmanship.
In his contribution, the Senate Leader moved a motion that his colleagues should support the actions of the Senate President since the issues started last week, which was promptly done.
He also moved another motion to refer the matter to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petition, which was overwhelmingly supported.
