Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central senatorial district, has instituted a N100.3billion defamation suit against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, FCT, Abuja.
This came after the Senate began a probe of the senator for engaging in verbal exchange with the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, over sitting arrangement at plenary last Thursday.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, alleged that the Senate president tarnished her image through a defamatory post published on his social media platform, Facebook.
According to the claimant, the Senate President had in the post that was published by his aide, titled “Is Local Content Committee of the Senate NATASHA’s BIRTHRIGHT,” maligned her.
She told the court that the said social media post claimed that she thought that being a lawmaker was all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the Senate chambers.
Aside from Akpabio who was sued in his personal capacity, those also cited as defendants in the suit marked: CV/737/25, are the Senate, one Mfon Patrick, who was identified as a senior legislative aide to the Senate president.
The lawmaker from Kogi State insisted that the post published against her by the Senate president and his aide was not only defamatory, provocative and disparaging, but also greatly lowered her dignity in the eyes of her colleagues and right-thinking members of the public.
Consequently, in the suit she filed through a team of lawyers, led by Mr. Victor Giwa, Senate Akpoti-Uduaghan, among other things, prayed the court to issue an order compelling the defendants to withdraw the said defamatory words and publication made against her immediately and tender an apology to her in writing.
She said the apology must be published in a national daily that is widely circulated within the jurisdiction of the court.
Other reliefs sought include: “A declaration that the words ‘it is a bottled anger by the Kogi lawmaker, who knows nothing about legislative rules. She thinks being a lawmaker is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers,’ used and written by the 3rd defendant at the prompting of the 1st and 2nd defendants, is defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection towards the Claimant by members of the public.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, whether acting by themselves or through their agents, privies, assigns or associates, from further publishing or caused to be published the said defamatory words herein stated or any other similar publications about the Claimant on the social media platform or in any other manner, which is capable of defaming the Claimant.”
More so, she prayed the court to order the defendants to pay her the sum of N100billion as general damages, as well as another N300million to cover the cost of the litigation.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the matter to be heard.
It will be recalled that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan recently had a faceoff with the Senate President over alleged unauthorised change of her seating position in the Senate.
Her attempt to protest the change which was said to have been caused by defection of opposition lawmakers to the ruling party, led the Senate President to order the Aide-de-camp to march her out of the legislative chamber, an action that elicited varied reactions from Nigerians.
However, the Senate has begun a probe of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for engaging in verbal exchange with the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, over sitting arrangment at plenary last Thursday.
It pushed the matter yesterday to the Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, led by Senator Neda Imasuen, LP, Edo South.
The Red chamber also passed a vote of confidence in the Senate president, saying he was only protecting the institution of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Akpabio mandated the committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and report back in two weeks.
