Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has taken legal action against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, accusing him of defamation over comments allegedly made about her following a dispute over her seat in the Senate.
The controversy began after her seat was reassigned due to opposition lawmakers defecting to the majority party.
Her resistance to the relocation led to a confrontation with Akpabio.
On Tuesday, 25 February 2025, she filed a lawsuit at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, listing the Senate President, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Akpabio’s Senior Legislative Aide, Mfon Patrick, as defendants.
The suit, marked CV/737/25, alleges that defamatory remarks were made by Akpabio and published by Patrick on Facebook.
According to her lawyer, Victor Giwa, the post, titled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?”, included a statement claiming Akpoti-Uduaghan believed being a lawmaker was about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”
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Giwa argued that the statement was “defamatory, provocative, and disparaging,” portraying his client in a negative light before her colleagues and the public.
“A DECLARATION that the words, ‘It is 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 third defendant at the prompting of the first and second defendants, is defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection toward the claimant,” the suit states.
Akpoti-Uduaghan is seeking a court order to prevent the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory statements against her.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the defendants, whether acting by themselves or through their agents, privies, assigns, or associates, from further publishing or causing to be published the said defamatory words or any similar publications about the claimant on social media or in any other manner capable of defaming her,” she demanded.
Additionally, she is asking for ₦100 billion in general damages and ₦300 million for litigation costs.
“An order for the payment of the sum of ₦100,000,000,000 as general damages. An order for the payment of the sum of ₦300,000,000 as the cost of action,” she stated.