FG files criminal charges against Natasha over assassination claims in TV interview
The Federal Government has filed criminal charges against suspended Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, over comments made during a national television interview in which she alleged an assassination plot against her.
Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making inciting and defamatory statements.
One of the charges stems from her remarks during a live appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on April 3, 2025, where she alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello were involved in a plot to assassinate her.
The suit, marked CR/297/25, was filed on May 16, 2025, before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, with Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan named as the sole defendant.
According to documents sighted by BusinessDay in Abuja, the federal government, acting as the complainant, has filed a suit before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, naming Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant.
“One of the charges brought against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is tied to allegations she made during a live broadcast of Politics Today on Channels Television, which aired on April 3, 2025. In that interview, she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello of conspiring to assassinate her”
The Federal Government claims the senator knowingly made damaging accusations with the intent or reasonable expectation of harming the reputation of others. This allegation falls under Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, and is punishable under Section 392.
Specifically, the FG referenced her statement during the interview, in which she alleged: “It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me.”
In the charge sheet filed by Mohammed Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), the federal government alleges that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan made several defamatory statements with the intent to damage the reputations of prominent political figures.
According to the documents, during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan questioned the motive behind the withdrawal of her security by the Senate President. She reportedly stated: “Let’s ask the Senate President why he withdrew my security in the first place, if not to expose me to danger. He stressed that I should be killed, but only in Kogi.”
She went on to say: “What matters most to me is staying alive—because once I’m dead, no one can speak for me or seek justice.”
The prosecution contends that the senator was aware or should have been aware that such statements would harm the image of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, citing a violation of Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, which is punishable under Section 392.
In the second count, Akpoti-Uduaghan was accused of making further damaging claims against Yahaya Bello, former Kogi State Governor.
Still referring to her interview on Politics Today, she allegedly claimed: “It was part of the discussions Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night—to have me eliminated. He insisted I should be killed, and specifically in Kogi.”
The prosecution asserts she knew such claims could seriously damage Bello’s reputation.
Additionally, the senator is alleged to have made another imputation during a telephone conversation on or about March 27, 2025, with one Sandra C. Duru. During that call, she reportedly said: “That girl who was killed—Iniubong Umoren—her organs were actually used for the wife, because the wife was very ill… when they killed the girl, her organs were used for the wife.” This statement, the government claims, implicated Senator Akpabio and was intended—or reasonably expected—to tarnish his reputation.
These allegations form the basis of a criminal suit initiated by the federal government, in which Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is named as the sole defendant.
