A High Court in Abuja has granted suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan bail in the sum of N50 million over defamation charges filed against her by the Federal Government.
The court, sitting in Maitama, also ruled that she must provide one surety who lives in Abuja and owns a property within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Justice Chizoba Orji gave the ruling on Thursday after hearing arguments from both the government and Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team.
The Federal Government accused the senator of making defamatory statements about Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello during a live interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
According to the three-count criminal charge, Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly said Akpabio withdrew her security to make her vulnerable and claimed he and Bello planned to have her killed in Kogi.
“He then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi. What is important to me is to stay alive, because dead men tell no tales,” she allegedly said on air.
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The government also accused her of making another serious claim in a private phone call, saying:
“That girl that was killed… her organs were actually used for the wife [of Akpabio], because the wife was really ill…”
The government argues that these statements were made knowingly or recklessly, and were meant to damage the reputations of Akpabio and Bello.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan pleaded not guilty to all charges when she appeared in court. Her lead lawyer, Professor Roland Otaru (SAN), urged the court to grant her bail, saying she is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“As she is standing there, she is innocent until proven otherwise,” Otaru saidThis is a case where your lordship has the discretion to grant bail. Not even the President can query it,” Otaru said.
The prosecution, however, opposed the bail application. David Kaswe, representing the Attorney General, argued that the senator might flee the country and should be remanded in prison.
But the judge disagreed and allowed her to go on bail.
Meanwhile, a similar case involving the senator is also pending at the Federal High Court in Abuja, but she has yet to appear in that case as the court has not been able to serve her the legal documents.
The trial will continue, and both Senate President Akpabio and former Governor Bello are expected to appear as witnesses.