The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday declined the Federal Government’s request to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, over her failure to appear in court for arraignment in a criminal defamation case.
Justice Muhammed Umar delivered the ruling after government counsel, David Kaswe, informed the court that the charge had been served on Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer earlier that same morning in court.
However, the judge held that since the senator herself had not previously been served with the charge or a hearing notice, it was unreasonable to expect her to appear in court. As such, the application for an arrest warrant was denied.
Kaswe argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan should have been aware of the arraignment since her counsel was served. But Justice Umar rejected that claim, stating that legal service on her lawyer did not automatically imply the senator’s personal awareness of the court proceedings.
Following the ruling, the prosecution applied for substituted service through her lawyer, Johnson Usman—a request the court granted. The arraignment has now been rescheduled for June 30, 2025.
The Charges
The charge, filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, accuses Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan of making defamatory remarks during a live appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on April 3, 2025.
According to the Federal Government, Akpoti-Uduaghan made damaging accusations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, alleging they plotted to assassinate her and make it appear as a local mob attack.
She is quoted as saying:
Let’s ask the Senate President, why in the first instance did he withdraw my security, if not to make me vulnerable to attacks? He then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.
The charge further claims she said:
It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night, to eliminate me. When he met with him, he then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.
Additionally, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making another defamatory statement during a phone call with one Sandra C. Duru in Abuja on March 27, 2025, allegedly claiming:
That girl that was killed, what’s her name, umm Imoren Iniubong, her organs were actually used for the wife, because the wife was really ill… when they killed the girl, and her organs were used for the wife.
The government contends that these statements were made with the intent—or at least the knowledge—that they could seriously damage the reputations of both Akpabio and Bello.
The Senate President, Yahaya Bello, and four others have been listed as prosecution witnesses in the case.