The industrial action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has stalled the hearing of the case against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District of Kogi State.
The senator is expected to appear before the court on Tuesday, but could not due to JUSUN’s strike.
Her lead counsel, West Idahosa (SAN), confirmed the development.
Idahosa, however, expressed uncertainty about whether the federal government planned to arraign her or not.
He said that whatever the federal government’s plans, Akpoti-Uduaghan, as a law-abiding citizen, would comply with the court’s directives.
Through the director of public prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, the federal government filed criminal charges against Akpoti-Uduaghan, alleging that she made defamatory statements during a live television broadcast and private telephone conversation.
These statements reportedly targeted the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.
According to the charge, filed on May 16, 2025, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court and marked CR/297/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making a statement during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels TV on April 3, 2025, where she alleged that Akpabio and Bello discussed plans to assassinate her.
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night – to eliminate me… he then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi,” the charge quotes her as saying.
In the conversation with a woman named Dr Sandra Duru, Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly claimed that Akpabio was linked to organ harvesting involving the late Iniubong Umoren, purportedly for the benefit of his ailing wife.
Akpabio, Bello, and four others have been listed as key witnesses in the trial.
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