Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and her husband, Emmanuel, alongside former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili and activist, Aisha Yesufu, have arrived at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, at Maitama, ahead of Senator Natasha’s arraignment.
The Federal Government is prosecuting the Senator representing Kogi West over an allegation that she made a false claim that Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former Governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, plotted to ass@ssinate her.
The Federal Government, in the three-count charge marked CR/297/25, alleged that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was listed as the sole defendant, made the false and defamatory remarks when she appeared as a guest on live television.
It specifically accused the lawmaker, who is currently on a six-month suspension, of making “imputation, knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person.”
According to the charge, by making such false imputation that tarnished the image of others, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan committed an offence under 391 of the Penal Code, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
It added that the alleged offence is punishable under section 392 of the same law.
Giving particulars of the offence in count one of the charge, the federal government, told the court that the lawmaker committed the alleged crime on April 3, during a live broadcast on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The lawmaker was said to have made an allegation that some politicians opposed to her were plotting to assassinate her.
Meanwhile, among those listed as witnesses in the matter were Akpabio and Bello, who were cited as nominal complainants.
Other witnesses billed to testify in the case are two police officers who investigated the matter, Maya Iliya and Abdulhafiz Garba; a Senator, Asuquo Ekpenyong and one Sandra Duru.
The charge, dated May 16, came on the heels of a letter Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, wherein she accused police of exhibiting bias in the investigation of her petitions against the Senate President.
It will be recalled that the Federal High Court in Abuja had fixed June 27 to determine the legality or otherwise of the six-month suspension that was slammed on the defendant by the Senate.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan approached the court after she was summoned to appear before the disciplinary committee following a faceoff she had with the Senate President during plenary on February 20.
While protesting alleged arbitrary change of her seating position, she repeatedly raised a point of order to be allowed to speak, even though she had been overruled by the Senate President.
Irked by her conduct, the Senate President referred her case to the Ethics Committee.
