Why I slammed N40bn suit against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan – Akpabio

Senate President Chief Godswill Akpabio has clarified thatthe fresh persistence use of social media led to his bringing N40Bn defamationsuit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. In a statement issued by his media office, the SenatePresident said contrary to the claims of Kogi state senator, the suit wasinstituted more than three months ago but was not made public because Natashawas allegedly evading service of the court summons. Akpabio said that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had intensifiedmaking of grave and unsubstantiated accusations capable of inflicting severereputational damage, hence, the court case as his constitutional right to seeklegal redress. The statement read in part “On 5 December 2025, SenatorNatasha Akpoti-Uduaghan again resorted to social media to claim incorrectly andmisleadingly that His Excellency, the President of the Senate, DistinguishedSenator Godswill Akpabio, had only just filed a multi-billion-naira defamationsuit against her over her unfounded allegations of sexual misconduct. “These allegations, as the public is well aware, have neverbeen supported by a single shred of evidence before the Senate Committee orbefore any competent authority. “For the avoidance of doubt, the facts are clear,verifiable, and already before the court. “Following Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s grave andunsubstantiated accusations capable of inflicting severe reputational damage,Senator Akpabio exercised his constitutional right to seek legal redress. ‘The suit was filed over three months ago. Its progress wastemporarily delayed by routine administrative processes and the normal judicialprocedures. “Upon the resumption of judicial activities on the file,several attempts were made by the court’s bailiff to personally serve SenatorAkpoti-Uduaghan with the originating processes. “Each attempt failed due to her deliberate evasion ofservice, as deposed to under oath in the bailiff’s affidavit now before thecourt. Only after these repeated evasions did the court, in November this yeargranted the application for substituted service. “Her claim that the matter was “just filed” is thereforefalse, misleading, and intended to distort public understanding of the case. “We reiterate that legal disputes are resolved incourtrooms, not through orchestrated narratives and staged outrage onsocial-media platforms. “The online applause Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan habituallyseeks cannot replace credible evidence, legal procedure, or judicial scrutiny. “This behaviour is consistent with her pattern during hersix-month Senate suspension, an entirely lawful disciplinary measure she soughtto delegitimise through digital agitation, only to ultimately serve thesuspension in full. “It is time for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to present the“evidence” she claims to possess before a court of competent jurisdiction,rather than relying on sensationalised commentary designed solely to attractsympathy and obscure the facts. “The law is guided by proof, procedure, and due process, notsentiment, not emotion, and certainly not social-media theatrics. She isadvised to properly instruct her lawyers, file her defence, and finally providethe evidence she purports to have for the baseless allegations she has peddledover this matter. “This is her golden opportunity. The public, the media, andthe legal community now await her defence to the defamatory claims of theplaintiff”, the statement said.

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