Court rejects FG’s request to arrest Natasha over defamation charge
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected the Federal Government’s request to issue an arrest warrant against the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, following her failure to appear in court for arraignment in an alleged defamation suit.
The presiding judge, Justice Muhammed Umar, delivered this ruling after the federal government’s counsel, David Kaswe, informed the court that the charge had been served on her lawyer earlier that morning in the courtroom.
Justice Umar stated that, as the senator had not previously been served with the charge or a hearing notice, it was inconceivable for her to have appeared in court.
On this basis, he refused the prosecution’s application for a bench warrant.
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected the Federal Government’s request to issue an arrest warrant against the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, following her failure to appear in court for arraignment in an alleged defamation suit.
The presiding judge, Justice Muhammed Umar, delivered this ruling after the federal government’s counsel, David Kaswe, informed the court that the charge had been served on her lawyer earlier that morning in the courtroom.
Justice Umar stated that, as the senator had not previously been served with the charge or a hearing notice, it was inconceivable for her to have appeared in court.
On this basis, he refused the prosecution’s application for a bench warrant.
The Federal Government’s counsel, however, argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan should have been aware of her arraignment since her legal counsel had been served.
The judge, in response, dismissed this argument, stating that serving the charge on her legal counsel was not sufficient to presume the senator’s awareness of the arraignment.
Following the court’s ruling, the prosecution applied for substituted service of the charge through her counsel, Johnson Usman.
The application was granted and the court subsequently scheduled her arraignment for June 30.
The charge was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Government.
In the criminal charge which names Senator Akpoti-Uduagahn as the sole defendant, the FG accused her of making defamatory statements during a live television broadcast.
The charge, which names Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello as the nominal complainants, alleges that Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Bello of conspiring with Akpabio to orchestrate her assassination outside Abuja and framing it as a mob or local attack.
According to the Federal Government, these allegations were made during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The FG argues that Akpoti-Uduaghan knowingly or recklessly made these imputations, fully aware that they could harm the reputation of the individuals involved.
She is alleged to have said, “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. What is important to me is to stay alive, because dead men tell no tales. Who is going to get justice for me?”
Source: Punch
