UPDATED: Judge rejects prosecutor’s request to order Akpoti-Uduaghan’s arrest over fresh cybercrime charges

A judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected a prosecutor’s request to issue an arrest warrant for suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over her absence at her scheduled arraignment on cyberbullying charges.

Trial judge M.G. Umar ruled that the prosecutor’s application lacked merit, noting that the defendant had only been served with the charges just before proceedings started.

The Nigerian government filed the fresh charges against the senator on 22 May, accusing her of cyberbullying the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, by falsely accusing them of plotting to have her assassinated.

The Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Federal Ministry of Justice, which instituted the charges on behalf of the government, based the case on the assassination plot remarks Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan made at a rally in her hometown, Ihima in Kogi State, on 1 April, and subsequently on Channels Television’s live programme, Politics Today, on 3 April.

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The prosecutors alleged in the six counts brought against her that she falsely made the claim knowing or having reason to believe that it would harm the reputation of Messrs Akpabio and Bello.

The case which, expands on an earlier criminal defamation case filed against the suspended senator at the FCT High Court in Abuja, is anchored on various provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

The previous case filed at the FCT High Court in Abuja on 16 May was brought under Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, which criminalises imputations made with the intent or knowledge that they could harm a person’s reputation.

Call for arrest

After the matter was called up for Monday’s hearing, defence lawyer, J.J. Usman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the court that the matter was slated for plea taking.

But Mr Usman noted that he was only served with the charges against her client around 9 a.m., just before proceedings kicked off on Monday. He acknowledged that his client – the defendant – was not present in court because of the delayed service.

The defence’s submission did not go down well with the prosecution counsel, D.E. Kaswe, who argued that the defendant was aware of the scheduled proceedings and the charges against her, but deliberately chose not to appear before the court.

Calling for her arrest, Mr Kaswe said, “My Lord, the defendant is not in court, and she knew the charges against her. She has refused to appear before this honourable court. We are applying for a bench warrant against the defendant.”

But Mr Usman urged the court to dismiss the application, stating that while the defendant had authorised him to be in court on her behalf, she had not been served with the charges against her.

Judge Umar, in a brief ruling, questioned the prosecution’s request.

“How do you expect her to be in court this morning if she was only served today? I will not grant your application if she was served this morning,” the judge said.

The judge then adjourned the case till 30 June.

The new charges

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan faces six counts in the new case, which was based on her remarks in April during her homecoming rally in Ihima, Kogi State, and on Channels Television’s live programme.

In one of the counts, the prosecutors alleged that on 1 April, while addressing a crowd of people at Ihima community, Kogi State, she intentionally made assassination remarks, transmitted via a computer system and network, with the intention to harm the reputations of Messrs Akpabio and Bello.

The charge quoted him as telling her audience, “…and Akpabio told Yahaya Bello, I am saying, standing by what I have said. He told him that he should make sure that killing me does not happen in Abuja; it should be done here, so it will seem as if it is the people that killed me here…”

In another count, the prosecutors alleged that she similarly committed a cybercrime offence by saying during a live studio interview on Channel Television’s Politics Today, on 3 April, “…Seun, I am glad you did affirm that I am a lawyer, and even if lam not a lawyer, l am a sane individual, and I do stand by what I said, it was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had witn Yahaya Betlo thac night, ehm to eliminate me…”

The charge also quoted him as saying that “..shortly a week after, which was the 14th, a week and a few days later when he met with him, he then emphasised that I should be killed but I should be killed in Kogi…”

The prosecutors said the remarks could harm the reputation of Messrs Akpabio and Bello.

They said she thereby committed offences in sections 24 (1)(b) and 24 (2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under the same sections of the Act.

Previous case

Earlier on 16 May, the federal government charged Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan under Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, which criminalises the act of making damaging imputations against another person’s reputation. She was charged before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High court.

That case has been slated for hearing on 19 June.

Background

In March, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the Senate for six months over an unrelated issue.

During the controversial Channels Television interview, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed her life was in danger following the withdrawal of her security details as a senator.

She directly accused Messrs Akpabio and Bello of plotting her assassination.

“I am glad you did admit that I am a lawyer, and even if I am not a lawyer, I am a sane individual, and I do stand by what I said. In respect to the meeting or discussion Akpabio had [with] Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me,” she was quoted as saying in the excerpts of her interview reproduced in the charges filed against her.

The TV appearance came after she accused the men of plotting to assassinate her.

Weeks before the interview, at a political rally in Kogi State, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Mr Akpabio of first attempting to influence Kogi Governor Usman Ododo to support her recall and later allegedly recruiting Mr Bello to both sponsor a recall process and plot her assassination.

“But Akpabio was not satisfied; he then called for Yahaya Bello. It was Senator Asuquo who drove Yahaya Bello to the Hiltons. I was informed.

READ ALSO: Defamation Charges: Nigerian govt lists Akpabio, Yahaya Bello as witnesses against Akpoti-Uduaghan

“The meeting was in two folds; he told him to commence my recall. He was going to fund it. Of course, money changed hands that day. The second thing was that he should kill me,” she allegedly said.

She also said the police had been notified of the alleged plot, though no public investigation has been announced.

Both Messrs Akpabio and Bello have denied the allegations.

Mr Akpabio described the claims as “false,” “malicious,” and “a complete fabrication.”

Mr Bello’s legal team labelled the remarks “reckless and inciting”.