NIGERIA: Court Grants Senator Natasha ₦50m Bail Over Alleged Defamation Of Akpabio, Yahaya Bello

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama has granted ₦50 million bail to the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Justice Chizoba Orji, who delivered the ruling on Thursday, rejected the Federal Government’s application to remand the senator in prison custody pending trial.

The judge ruled that there was no sufficient reason to deny the defendant bail, noting that she had shown willingness to appear for her trial.

The court directed that the senator must provide one surety who is a person of integrity and owns a landed property in Abuja.

Justice Orji based her decision on Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution and Sections 163 and 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

The court adjourned the case to September 23, 2025, for trial.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is facing a three-count charge filed by the Federal Government.

She is accused of falsely alleging during a live television interview that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, were involved in a plot to assassinate her.

The charge, marked CR/297/25, claims the statement was defamatory and aimed at damaging their reputation.

The alleged offence took place on April 3 during an interview on Channels Television’s *Politics Today* programme.

The government is prosecuting her under Sections 391 and 392 of the Penal Code.

Among the witnesses listed in the case are Senate President Akpabio and ex-Governor Yahaya Bello, along with two police investigators, a senator, and a private citizen.

The charge followed a letter Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation, accusing the police of bias in investigating her petitions.

She had earlier taken the Senate to court after being suspended for six months following a heated exchange with the Senate President on February 20.

The Federal High Court in Abuja is expected to rule on the legality of her suspension on June 27.