Senate Supports Akpabio As Kogi Lawmaker, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Files ₦100 Billion Defamation Suit

The 10th Senate on Tuesday declared support for Senate President Godswill Akpabio as the lawmaker representing Kogi Central senatorial district, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, filed a ₦100.3bn defamation lawsuit against him.

Naija News understands that the legal action stems from a heated verbal altercation between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan during last week’s plenary session, following the relocation of her Senate seat.

Reacting to the lawsuit, Senate Spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, in an interview with Punch downplayed the suit’s chances in court, emphasizing that parliamentary activities are protected by legislative privilege.

“We are not aware of any suit for now, but let me state here that the parliament enjoys absolute privilege in the conduct of its affairs, and what it does in a proper legislative setting is not actionable. This is all we can say for now,” Adaramodu said.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, however, insists that Akpabio defamed her through comments made during their altercation and further published by his aide on social media.

The Heated Exchange: What Led To The Suit?

The verbal clash between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan occurred last week after the Kogi senator protested the relocation of her seat.

During the session, Akpabio ordered security to remove Akpoti-Uduaghan from the chambers, but intervention from fellow senators prevented the situation from escalating further.

Following the incident, the Senate spokesperson, Adaramodu, criticized the Kogi senator, stating that the National Assembly is a place for “serious business” and not “content creation in entertainment”.

Details Of The ₦100bn Defamation Suit

In the lawsuit (marked CV/737/25), filed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on February 25, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan named the Senate President, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Akpabio’s aide, Mfon Patrick, as defendants.

Her lawyer, Victor Giwa, argued that defamatory statements made by Akpabio and published by Patrick on Facebook had damaged her reputation.

One of the statements in question allegedly read, “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.”

Giwa described the post as “defamatory, provocative, and disparaging,” stating that it had caused public ridicule and lowered Akpoti-Uduaghan’s dignity among her colleagues.

In the suit, Akpoti-Uduaghan is seeking:

A declaration that the alleged statements were defamatory and meant to incite public ridicule.

A perpetual injunction restraining Akpabio, Patrick, and their associates from making further defamatory statements.

A court order directing the defendants to pay N100bn in general damages and N300m in litigation costs.

“An order for the payment of the sum of ₦100,000,000,000 as general damages. An order for the payment of ₦300,000,000 as the cost of action,” the suit reads.

The court has yet to fix a date for the hearing.