By Ayomide Otitoju
Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello have been named as prosecution witnesses in the Federal Government’s defamation trial against suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The lawmaker representing Kogi Central is being prosecuted at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja over comments she allegedly made during a live television programme. The government accuses her of making statements deemed defamatory against Akpabio and Bello, including allegations of an assassination plot.
The charges cite Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, which criminalizes making imputations known or believed to be harmful to another’s reputation. The offence is punishable under Section 392 of the same law.
In one of the counts, Akpoti-Uduaghan is quoted as saying:
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me… 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 emphasized that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.”
According to the prosecution, these statements were knowingly made to tarnish the reputation of both men.
The Federal Government argues that the senator acted with intent or recklessness regarding the reputational harm her remarks could cause. The prosecution has confirmed that both Akpabio and Bello will testify during the trial.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the Senate on March 6 following what was described as “gross misconduct” linked to a seating arrangement dispute involving the Senate President.
