Natasha
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Suspended Kogi Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, was on Monday arraigned in a Federal High Court, Abuja over alleged cyberbullying and defamation of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and former Governor of Kogi, Yahaya Bello.
The suspended senator was docked on a six-count charge bordering on making inciting statements in public and on television, amounting to cyberbullying and defamation.
The lawmaker who was accompanied by her husband to the courtroom to answer the charge against her pleaded not guilty to all six-count charge.
The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation, preferred the six-count criminal charge against her.
Akpabio, had in a petition to the Inspector-General of Police, complained about damages done to his reputation by Akpoti-Uduaghan on the accusation that he planned to eliminate her in Kogi.
The allegations in the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/195/2025 contravene and are punishable under the Cybercrimes Act.
She was alleged to have transmitted false and injurious information via electronic means calculated to malign, incite and endanger lives and breach public order.
In the charge, Akpoti-Uduaghan, while addressing a gathering on April 4 in Ihima, Kogi State, was alleged to have said that Akpabio instructed Bello to have her eliminated in Kogi.
Similarly, in a television interview, she allegedly repeated the narrative, suggesting a murderous conspiracy against her life by Akpabio and Bello to take place in Kogi to make it appear as if her people were responsible.
Following her plea of not guilty, the
prosecuting counsel, Mr Mohammed Abubakar prayed the court for a date to start trial and call witnesses.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Prof. Roland Otaru, SAN, moved a bail application for the defendant.
Otaru, in the application, prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail on self-recognition.
He submitted that the suspended senator was not a flight risk and would not interfere with the police investigation and witnesses.
Moreover, he said that the offences his client was standing trial for were bailable, adding that the prosecution did not oppose the application.
The trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar subsequently admitted the defendant to bail on self-recognition.
He adjourned the matter until September 22 for the trial to begin.
On the last adjourned date, the court had rejected an application by the government to issue a bench warrant against Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The prosecuting counsel, Mr David Kasue had asked the court to issue a bench warrant for her arrest following her absence in court.
Her lawyer, however, opposed the application for a bench warrant, saying the application was strange and not courteous, since he had only been served with the charge on behalf of his client in court that morning. (NAN)
