The Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a lawsuit against the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for alleged defamation of character.
Recall that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had raised concerns after her Senate seat was reassigned last week following a reshuffle triggered by opposition members switching to the ruling party.
She resisted the relocation, leading to a face-off between her and the Senate President.
However, in a suit filed before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Tuesday, Akpabio and his Senior Legislative Aide, Mfon Patrick, were listed as the second and third defendants, respectively.
In the suit, marked CV/737/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer, Barrister Victor Giwa, alleged that defamatory statements were made by the Senate President and published by his aide on Facebook.
According to him, 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.”
Giwa argued that the statements were defamatory, provocative, and disparaging, lowering his client’s dignity in the estimation of her colleagues and the public.
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, were defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection” toward Natasha.
She also urged the court to restrain the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory statements against her on any platform.
“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,” she stated.
Furthermore, Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the court to order the defendants to pay her N100 billion in general damages and N300 million as 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 according to the court filings.
