The Nigerian government has filed criminal charges against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over allegations she made during a live TV interview, claiming Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello plotted to assassinate her.
The case, filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, lists the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the complainant and Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant. The government accuses her of making statements “knowing or having reason to believe” they would d+maged reputations—an offense under Sections 391 and 392 of the Penal Code.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on April 3, 2025, the senator said, “I stand by what I said. Akpabio met with Yahaya Bello to eliminate me… Why did he withdraw my security if not to make me vulnerable? I’ve faced v+olent, d+ngerous politics since 2018, and I’ve always had security.”
She claimed her suspension from the Senate left her exposed, unlike her colleagues.
Weeks earlier, at a rally in Kogi State, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged Akpabio first asked Governor Ododo to initiate her recall. When Ododo declined, she said, Akpabio approached Bello.
“There were two parts to the Hilton meeting: to fund my recall and to arrange my k+lling,” she claimed. “Akpabio told Bello not to do it in Abuja—do it in Kogi so it looks like the people did it. We informed the police.”
The charges come amid wider controversy in the Senate involving s+x¥al hara§§ment allegations, intimidation, and suppression of dissent. Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier accused Akpabio of s+x¥al hara§§ment but was later suspended for six months, officially for “misconduct.”
