Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, alleging defamation over statements attributed to him and his aide.
The dispute arose after her Senate seat was reassigned following a reshuffle triggered by opposition lawmakers defecting to the majority caucus. She resisted the relocation, leading to a confrontation with Akpabio.
On February 25, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a suit at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, listing the Senate President, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Akpabio’s Senior Legislative Aide, Mfon Patrick, as defendants.
In the suit, marked CV/737/25, her lawyer, Victor Giwa, alleged that defamatory remarks were made by the Senate President and published by his aide on Facebook. 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.”
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Giwa argued that the statement was defamatory and meant to ridicule his client. 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.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan is also urging the court to issue an injunction restraining the defendants from making further defamatory statements against her. She prayed for “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.”
Furthermore, she is seeking 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 demanded.
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