Court Grants Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan ₦50m Bail, Rejects FG’s Bid to Jail Suspended Senator
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, has granted bail to the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in the sum of ₦50 million.
Justice Chizoba Orji, in her ruling, rejected the Federal Government’s request to remand the senator in prison custody, stating there was no compelling reason to deny her bail as she had shown readiness to face trial.
As part of her bail conditions, Akpoti-Uduaghan must provide one surety—a person of proven integrity who owns landed property in Abuja. The court relied on Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution and Sections 163 and 165 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 to reach its decision.
The trial is scheduled to commence on September 23.
The Federal Government is prosecuting the lawmaker on a three-count criminal charge, accusing her of making a false claim during a live television appearance on Channels TV’s Politics Today on April 3. The prosecution alleges that she falsely accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello of plotting to assassinate her.
According to the charge (CR/297/25), her statements amount to criminal defamation under Sections 391 and 392 of the Penal Code.
Key witnesses lined up to testify include Akpabio, Bello, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, one Sandra Duru, and two police investigators—Maya Iliya and Abdulhafiz Garba.
This criminal case runs parallel to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal challenge to her six-month suspension from the Senate, which arose after a heated face-off with Senate President Akpabio on February 20. She had accused him of sexual harassment during a separate interview on February 28 and is currently seeking a court declaration nullifying all disciplinary actions taken by the Senate during the pendency of her lawsuit.
