A Federal High Court in Abuja has barred parties in the suit filed by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and three others from granting press interviews on issues relating to the case.
Justice Binta Nyako issued the order yesterday following complaint by lawyer to Akpabio, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN).
Ogunwumiju had complained that the plaintiff was moving from one television house to another, granting press interviews on issues relating to her case, currently pending before the court.
He claimed that Natasha has been to the BBC and CNN to speak on the issue.
Ruling, Justice Nyako said there shall be no press interviews by all parties and their lawyers as regarding the subject matter of the case.
Justice Nyako, who noted that the case was sub-judice, also barred parties and their lawyers from engaging in streaming of proceedings in the case on social media.
At the commencement of proceedings yesterday, plaintiff’s lawyer, Jibril Okutepa (SAN) told the court that the case was coming up for the first time having been transferred from another court presided over by Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
Okutepa said parties have filed and exchanged all relevant documents except one, and prayed the court to grant a consolidated hearing of all pending applications along with the substantive suit.
He noted that time was of the essence because his client’s suspicion was for a limited period.
He added that his client was desirous of expeditious determination of the case.
Lawyers to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Charles Iyoila and Paul Daudu (SAN), who represented the Senate, did not object to Okutepa’s application that the substantive case should be heard with the objections raised by the defendants.
Ogunwumiju and Umeh Kalu (SAN), who represented Senator Neda Imasuem – Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Code of Conduct – objected to Okutepa’s application.
Justice Nyako ruled and held in favour of Okutepa, saying the court would hear all pending applications, including preliminary objections along with the substantive suit.
She then adjourned till May 12 for hearing.
Listed as defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025 are the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, the President of the Senate and Senator Neda Imasuem (Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Code of Conduct).
Natasha is, by the suit, challenging the decision of the Senate to suspend her for six months over alleged misconduct.
The plaintiff is contending, among others, that she was not accorded fair hearing before the Senate took the decision to suspend her.
Senate President demands retraction from Akpoti-Uduaghan, Abbo over allegations
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has written letters to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and former Adamawa North Senator, Ishaku Elisha Abbo to demand retractions, apologies and compensation for reputational harm over malicious claims against him by the duo.
While Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Akpabio of plotting his assassination, Abbo claimed that the Senate president masterminded his removal from the Senate.
Akpabio, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Hon Eseme Eyiboh in Abuja, said that the “timing, tone and striking similarity of these coordinated attacks point clearly to a politically motivated smear campaign.”
He described the accusations as baseless, malicious and false, urging the public to disregard them.
The statement reads in part: “The Office of the President of the Senate strongly condemns the recent baseless, false and inflammatory accusation made by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in which she falsely alleged that the Senate President, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Akpabio, GCON, was involved in a plot to assassinate her.
“While speaking in Kogi State on April 1, 2025, the suspended Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan recklessly and maliciously claimed that Senator Godswill Akpabio ‘recruited’ former Governor Yahaya Bello to ‘assassinate her in Kogi State rather than in Abuja.’
“This outrageous accusation is not only false but a complete fabrication and deeply irresponsible and dangerous attempt to provoke public unrest, attract media attention and discredit the person and office of the President of the Senate for ulterior motives.
“It is important to remind the public that this same individual had previously made an unsubstantiated accusation of sexual harassment against Senator Akpabio—a claim she seems to have abandoned without explanation.
“Having failed to gain traction with that narrative, she has now escalated her campaign of misinformation to a deadly and defamatory dimension.
“This pattern of deliberate falsehoods and manipulative theatrics reveals a troubling willingness to exploit public sensitivities through recurring victimhood narratives.
“It is a matter of public record that she has previously made assassination allegations against former Governor Yahaya Bello and others in 2019 and 2023, along with multiple unsubstantiated claims of sexual harassment against other dignitaries.
“Her recurring persecution narrative and evident lying complex should not be weaponised to malign individuals or destroy hard-earned reputations.
“Interestingly, this latest reckless allegation is not occurring in isolation.
“Barely 24 hours later, on April 2, 2025, former Senator Elisha Abbo appeared on Arise Television to revive a previously withdrawn claim that Senator Akpabio ‘manipulated the judiciary’ to secure his removal from the Senate.
“Nigerians will recall that Mr. Abbo, in 2023, publicly retracted this same accusation and tendered an apology after acknowledging that his claims were founded on incorrect assumptions.
“His removal from office was the outcome of a constitutionally grounded judicial decision by the Court of Appeal, which independently determined that he was not duly elected to represent Adamawa North.
“In a further twist, Mr. Abbo also alleged that he was denied his entitlements by the Senate President. This, too, is categorically false.
“Entitlements such as salaries and allowances are processed strictly through administrative and legal procedures.
“The Senate President does not and cannot unilaterally approve or deny such requests.
“Any delays or rejections would have been based solely on due diligence and compliance with established protocols.
“The timing, tone and striking similarity of these coordinated attacks point clearly to a politically motivated smear campaign.
“These individuals—backed by undisclosed interests—appear united in a desperate effort to undermine the credibility of the Senate and its leadership and intended to distract from their own personal and political shortcomings and failings.
“Senator Godswill Akpabio remains undeterred.
“As a statesman devoted to national unity, institutional integrity, and the rule of law, he will not be distracted by malicious falsehoods or inflammatory rhetoric.
“Regardless of the necessity for legal redress, formal letters of demand, seeking immediate public retractions, apologies and compensation for reputational harm, are underway to be served on both Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Mr Elisha Abbo.
“We call on the Nigerian public in particular and the International Community to reject these baseless and provocative narratives.
“The Senate, under Senator Akpabio’s leadership, remains focused on its constitutional mandate: to promote legislative excellence, safeguard democratic values, and deliver meaningful progress for the Nigerian people.”
No limits to number of petitions on Natasha’s recall — INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said there are no limits to the number of times a lawmaker can be subjected to a recall process.
The clarification was made by the Chairman of the Commission, Rotimi Oyekanmi in relation to the recall efforts initiated by some constituents of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, over her face-off with the authorities of the upper legislative chamber.
Natasha had been suspended for six months for unruly behavior after a verbal attack she launched against the Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on February 20 because the latter insisted that she could only address the chamber from the seat allocated to her.
The lawmaker would later allege that the Senate President prevented her from speaking because she had previously declined his sexual advances.
Speaking on a Channels Television programmme, Politics Today, on Thursday after a bid by Natasha’s constituents to recall her was declined on the grounds that the conditions precedent had not been fulfilled, Oyekanmi said there is no limit to the number of times her constituents can call for her recall.
“The law does not specify how many times a lawmaker can be recalled,” he said, adding that Section 69 of the constitution outlines the process for recall but does not restrict the number of attempts.
He, however, said for any recall to succeed, the petition must meet the constitutional requirement of signatures from more than 50 per cent of the registered voters in the affected constituency.
The commission had declined the previous effort made to recall Natasha because it noted that the number of verified signatures fell short of the required 50 per cent plus one of registered voters in Kogi Central.
Led by Charity Omole, some aggrieved constituents had stormed INEC’s headquarters in Abuja on March 24 to submit the recall petition, citing Natasha’s suspension from the Senate s the reason for their action.
“We cannot afford not to have a representative in the Senate. We are the ones who voted her in, and now we are saying we don’t want her anymore,” Omole said.
INEC, however, declined the petition despite Omole’s claim that more than 250,000 of the 488,000 registered voters in the district had signed the petition, saying the original submission was incomplete, lacking the necessary contact details of the petitioners as required by the commission’s guidelines.