Senate President Godswill Akpabio has launched a fresh ₦200bn defamation suit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, escalating a bitter dispute that has gripped the 10th National Assembly and exposed deep fractures within its leadership.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, revealed the new action in a post on Facebook on Friday, attaching court documents filed before Justice U. P. Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court. She said the development would finally allow her to present her case publicly after the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges “declined to hear” her earlier complaint.
In the suit, Akpabio accuses his colleague of making “false, malicious and injurious” allegations that cast him as a “sexual predator” and subjected him to “public hatred, contempt and ridicule.” The former Akwa Ibom governor is seeking ₦200bn in damages, as well as public retractions and broadcast apologies across the country.
A November 6 court order had permitted substituted service of the documents after bailiffs were unable to reach Akpoti-Uduaghan directly. The papers were ultimately routed through the Clerk of the National Assembly.
‘Now I have a chance to prove it’
Confirming receipt of the lawsuit, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she welcomed the opportunity for a full trial, arguing that the Senate’s internal processes had been used to silence her.
Posting on Facebook and Instagram, she wrote: “I’m in receipt of the newly instituted ₦200bn suit against me by Senator Godswill Akpabio… Now, I am glad Akpabio has brought this up because the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges failed to grant me an audience, relying on the fact that his wife had instituted a defamatory case against me.”
She said Senate rules prevented her from going to court without first appearing before the Ethics Committee — the same committee that recommended her six-month suspension earlier this year.
“Alas, I now have a chance to prove how I was sexually harassed and how my refusal to give in to his demands unleashed a series of attacks on my person. See you in court, Godswill Akpabio,” she wrote.
Her comments immediately reignited debate over the increasingly toxic atmosphere in the Senate, with analysts describing the case as one of the most significant confrontations between a sitting Senate President and a colleague in recent memory.
A Senate divided
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months in March 2025 after protesting the relocation of her assigned seat in the chamber — a move she said was orchestrated to humiliate her. She repeatedly accused Akpabio of targeting her and once labelled him a “dictator.”
Although her suspension formally lapsed in September, she did not resume immediately, citing internal resistance and unresolved legal issues. Her office — sealed throughout the period — was eventually reopened by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
On her return, she maintained she had “no apology to tender,” insisting efforts were ongoing to suppress dissent within the Senate’s ranks.
With both lawmakers now preparing for an explosive legal battle, the dispute is once again drawing intense public scrutiny — and raising uncomfortable questions about power, accountability and the limits of dissent at the heart of Nigeria’s legislature.
