Strike halted Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s court arraignment over defamation charges; new date pending.

The ongoing strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria caused the postponement of the arraignment of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

The strike, which began on Monday, resulted in the closure of the majority of courts, including all the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high courts, effectively halting court proceedings.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was expected to be arraigned before the FCT High Court on Tuesday, June 3, facing a criminal charge brought by the Federal Government. The charge relates to alleged defamatory statements she made against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

According to the charge filed under case number CR/297/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making criminal imputations that defamed both Akpabio and Bello. These allegations stem from statements she made during a live broadcast as well as a private phone conversation.

One of the key allegations cited in the charge involves comments Akpoti-Uduaghan made on the Politics Today programme aired on Channels TV on April 3, 2025. In that broadcast, she claimed that Akpabio and Bello had discussed plans to assassinate her.

The charge quoted her as saying, “It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night—to eliminate me… He then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi.”

Additionally, the Federal Government alleged that on March 27, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan made further defamatory remarks in a phone call to a woman identified as Dr Sandra Duru. During that call, she purportedly linked Akpabio to the organ harvesting of the late Iniubong Umoren, which she claimed was done for Akpabio’s ailing wife.

The suspended senator faces charges under sections 391 and 392 of the Penal Code, which pertain to defamation and criminal harm to reputation.

West Idahosa, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal representative, had earlier confirmed to The PUNCH that his client was willing and prepared to appear in court to respond to the summons served on her.

He stated, “Our client is a law-abiding citizen. Why wouldn’t she be there? It’s a summons we have undertaken. Only disrespectful institutions that disregard court orders would fail to appear, and she is not in that category.”

Although the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria has now called off the strike, the court is yet to announce a new date for the senator’s arraignment.