Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has initiated legal action against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, alleging defamation.
The dispute arose after Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Senate seat was reassigned following a reshuffle triggered by opposition members switching to the majority wing.
Her resistance to the relocation led to a confrontation with the Senate President.
On February 25, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a suit at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, naming Akpabio, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Senate President’s Senior Legislative Aide, Mfon Patrick, as the first, second, and third defendants, respectively.
The case, marked CV/737/25, was filed through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, who claimed that defamatory statements made by the Senate President were published on Facebook by his aide.
Giwa referenced a post titled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?”, which included a statement suggesting that Akpoti-Uduaghan believed being a lawmaker was only about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”
Describing the statement as defamatory, provocative, and damaging to her reputation, Giwa 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.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan also requested a court order preventing the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory remarks about her.
“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,” the suit stated.
Additionally, she sought N100 billion in general damages and N300 million to cover litigation costs.
“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,” she prayed.
