ABUJA | June 19, 2025 — The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has granted bail to the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in the sum of ₦50 million, following her arraignment on a three-count criminal charge bordering on defamation.
Justice Chizoba Orji, who presided over the case on Thursday, also ruled that the senator must provide one surety — a person of reasonable integrity — who resides in the FCT and owns landed property within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
The ruling followed arguments for and against the bail application from the prosecution and defence teams.
Akpoti-Uduaghan is being prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation in a suit marked CR/297/25. The federal government accused her of making defamatory remarks about Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello during a live television broadcast on Channels TV’s Politics Today, aired on April 3, 2025.
In the charges read before the court, the senator was said to have alleged that Akpabio and Bello conspired to orchestrate her assassination, disguising it as a mob attack in Kogi State. The prosecution argued that she knowingly made these accusations with the intent to damage their reputations.
Quoting from her alleged statements, the charge noted that Natasha said:
“Let’s ask the Senate President, why in the first instance did he withdraw my security, if not to make me vulnerable to attacks? 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.”
In a separate allegation, the government cited a phone conversation she reportedly had with one Sandra C. Duru on March 27, 2025. In it, Natasha allegedly linked the killing of a young woman, Iniubong Umoren, to a ritual involving Akpabio’s wife:
“Her organs were actually used for the wife, because the wife was really ill… when they killed the girl, and her organs were used for the wife.”
These statements, according to the federal government, were not only false and injurious, but made with reckless disregard for the truth — an act they believe warrants criminal prosecution.
The defence team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Roland Otaru, argued for bail, citing that the senator is entitled to presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
“We are before a court of law, not of sentiments,” Otaru said. “This is not a murder case. Even on self-recognition, she should be granted bail. No one — not even the president — can query your lordship’s discretion to grant bail.”
The prosecuting counsel, David Kaswe, however, opposed the bail application, asking the court to remand Akpoti-Uduaghan in prison on grounds that she posed a flight risk. He reminded the court that the prosecution had previously sought a bench warrant in a parallel case before Justice Muhammed Umar due to the senator’s failure to appear, claiming service had not been effected.
Justice Orji, however, dismissed the remand request, ruling in favour of bail and affirming that the law presumes the defendant innocent until proven guilty.
The senator pleaded not guilty to all three charges when they were read out to her in court.
Background
The case stems from public allegations made by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, accusing powerful political figures of plotting to end her life and linking them to ritualistic killings. The statements, first made on national television and later during a private phone call, have since gone viral, causing a stir both within political circles and among the general public.
Senate President Akpabio, former Governor Bello, and four other individuals have been listed as witnesses in the case.
The arraignment was originally scheduled for June 3, 2025, but was stalled due to a nationwide strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria.
What’s Next?
The trial is expected to continue in the coming weeks. While Akpoti-Uduaghan remains free on bail, the legal and political implications of her statements — and the response from the federal government — will no doubt keep this case firmly in the public eye.
Stay with us for updates on this developing story.
