By our reporter
The public spat between Senate President,Godswill Akpabio, and the female senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has landed both parties in the court of law.
Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan has sued Akpabio and others for alleged defamation of her character.
Background to crisis
On Thursday, February 20, Akpoti-Uduaghan was involved in a verbal duel on the floor of the Senate with Akpabio following a reassignment of seats,which affected her.
Rejecting the new arrangement, she challenged it, leading to an altercation.
However, justifying the reassignment, Chief Whip Tahir Monguno raised a point of order and pointed to parts of the Senate rule book.
According to him, the changes arose due to a shift in Senate’s political party demographics because of the exit of some opposition members to the wing of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akpabio was elected on the platform of APC while Akpoti-Uduaghan is of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Monguno clarified that such adjustments were well within the constitutional prerogative of the Senate President.
Backing Monguno’s explanations, the Senate President ruled in favour of the order.
Drama started when, after these, Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan raised her hand to speak and was denied recognition for not addressing the chamber from her new seat.
She protested this, saying: “I don’t care if I am silenced, I am not afraid. You have denied me my privilege. Mr Senate President, ever since the night club incident, you have deliberately silenced my voice.
“My bills have not been able to scale through to second reading. I am not afraid of being silenced, but I will do so in honour.”
The confrontation has since generated mixed reactions from Nigerians even as Senate referred the matter to its Ethics and Disciplinary Committee for the next course of action.
Details of the suit
However, on February 25, 2025, in a suit before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed that the Senate President and his Senior Legislative Aide, Mfon Patrick, who are listed as second and third defendants, defamed her in a related matter.
Through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, in the suit number CV/737/25, she claimed that certain words by the Senate President, published by his aide on his Facebook page and titled ‘Is local content committee of the senate NATASHA’s BIRTHRIGHT’, allegedly damaged her reputation.
According to her, she was hurt by some particular words that reportedly said that though she is a lawmaker, it is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent apparel to the Senate Chambers.
To her, such profiling was defamatory, provocative, disparaging, and eroded her dignity in her colleagues’ eyes and those of right-thinking members of the public.
Among the reliefs she, therefore, sought, is:
“A declaration that the words “it is a bottled anger by the Kogi Lawmaker, who knows nothing about legislative rules. She thinks being a lawmaker is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the Chambers” used and written by the 3rd Defendant at the prompting of the 1st and 2nd Defendants is defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection towards the Claimant by members of the public.”
Furthermore, the aggrieved senator prayed
the court to restrain the defendants or associates from publishing defamatory words against her on any platform.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan also sought: “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants whether acting by themselves, or through their agents, privies, assigns or associates from further publishing or cause to be published the said defamatory words herein stated or any other similar publications about the Claimant on the social media platform or in any other manner, which is capable of defaming the Claimant.”
Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan then prayed the court to order the defendants to pay her N100 billion as damages and N300 million as cost of the legal action.
