Former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has petitioned the inspector general of police (IGP) over alleged defamatory statements made against him by Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
In the petition, written and signed by his solicitor, Mr N.A. Abubakar Esq, to the IGP yesterday, Bello called on the Nigeria Police Force to invite Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to substantiate her allegation against him with credible evidence.
“Where she fails to do so, it causes her to be arrested and prosecuted by the provisions of the law for criminal defamation, inciting public disturbance and spreading false information injurious to public peace,” the lawyer wrote.
He said that the utterances made against the former governor were false, reckless, and inciting and “constitute serious criminal defamation, false accusation, and incitement to public disorder, all of which are offences under Nigerian law.”
The former governor has also written to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, through his counsels, Chief R.O. Balogun, SAN & Co, demanding a retraction and public apology over defamatory statements made against him in two national dailies or face legal consequences.
“Our client’s attention has been drawn to a most disturbing, damaging and criminally defamatory statement made by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, during her public address at a political event tagged ‘Homecoming Rally’ held on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Okehi LGA of Kogi State.
“While addressing attendees at the rally, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan falsely and maliciously uttered the following words about our client: ‘(Senate President Godswill) Akpabio sent for Yahaya Bello. And Senator Asuquo from Cross River drove Yahaya Bello from the Hilton Hotel.
“I was informed of everything, and what I learned from the meeting was in two folds. He told him to commence my recall and that he would fund it – of course, monies changed hands that night.
“The second thing he told him was that he should try and kill me. I didn’t make this public, but I wrote to the IG of the Police. Akpabio told Yahaya Bello. He told him that he should make sure that killing me does not happen in Abuja, that it should be done here, so it would seem as if it’s the people that killed me here …’
“That these utterances are not only false, reckless and inciting, but they constitute serious criminal defamation, false accusation and incitement to public disorder, all of which are offences under Nigerian law,” Bello’s lawyer, Abubakar, wrote in the petition to the IGP.
He said Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015 penalises a person who knowingly or intentionally sends false messages or information through a computer or network likely to harm another person’s reputation.
He added that, in Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case, she caused videos of her above statement to be widely circulated online, where they have continued to trend to date, with the clear intention of harming the reputation of the former governor. This is against Sections 114 and 140 of the Penal Code (applicable in Northern Nigeria), which criminalises giving false information with intent to mislead public officers or the public.
“By accusing our client of plotting an assassination and naming him as a co-conspirator in a purported murder plot (with an attempt to disguise the killing as mob or ethnic violence), Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan has:
“Gravely damaged our client’s reputation by portraying him as a violent and vengeful political actor and misled the public and tried to incite ethnic and political distrust, especially among clans of Ebiraland in particular and the people of Kogi Central in general.
“Brought his name into disrepute on the basis of an allegation so weighty that, if left unchallenged, could harm his political career and personal safety; and abused her parliamentary status and platform by propagating such falsehoods without evidence, in a very public and politically charged setting,” the solicitor said.
He added, “Our client states that he had long considered Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as unhinged and apparently possessed of a schizophrenic disorder, characterised by manic narcissism, wild hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thinking and incurable incontinence with emotions and social interactions – hence his patient indulgence of her in the past while he was governor in Kogi State when he restrained himself many times from seeking legal redress even though she frequently harassed him in the media with all sorts of horrible and damaging lies.
“Our client, however, asserts that he has long ended his stewardship of Kogi State as governor and moved on to other pursuits – and that he no longer feels the same duty of paternalistic indulgence which he had for all Kogites as his citizens while in Office, and still exhibits till today, hence his insistence on full redress for her (Akpoti-Uduaghan’s) current accusations which, as usual, are totally fabricated and utterly baseless.”
He urged the IGP to expedite action on the petition, stating that “failure to act in the circumstances of these egregious offences by Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan will embolden others to also weaponise political platforms for dangerous falsehoods and criminal misrepresentation, especially with an eye to gaining a dishonest advantage over opponents, thus endangering our democracy.”
According to him, this is necessary “to preserve public order, safeguard the integrity of public discourse and protect innocent persons from targeted smear campaigns that can endanger lives or destabilise the peace of the state and nation.”
Bello’s lawyers, led by Chief R.O. Balogun, SAN, in a separate letter written to the embattled senator, said, “We hereby demand, on behalf of our client, the following:
“That you issue a formal retraction of the said defamatory statements, to be published in two national dailies.
“That you cease and desist from making any further defamatory statements concerning him, whether directly or by innuendo, and whether published in print, electronic or social media platforms.
“That you comply in terms of the foregoing within fourteen days of the service of this letter to you.
“TAKE NOTICE that failure, refusal or neglect to comply with the above demands within the period of FOURTEEN DAYS (14) from the date this Letter is served on you, our client will set the necessary machinery in motion to initiate both civil and criminal proceedings against you without further notice.”
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