The senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, pleaded not guilty on Monday in the second criminal case involving her alleged defamatory remarks against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
Trial judge M. G Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja granted her bail after the federal government arraigned her on six counts of cyberbullying.
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The charges stemmed from remarks she made during a homecoming rally in her hometown, Ihima, Kogi State, on 1 April, and in a live appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on 3 April, accusing Messrs Akpabio and Bello of plotting to assassinate her.
According to the charges filed by the Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF) under the Federal Ministry of Justice, the prosecution alleged that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan made the claims knowing they could damage the reputation of the two politicians.
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The case,which expanded 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.
On Monday, the senator denied the cybercrime charges while taking her plea.
Bail
The prosecution lawyer, M. B. Abubakar, asked that she be remanded in prison after she entered her plea.
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But her lawyer, Ronald Otaru, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), applied for bail, arguing that his client is a serving senator representing five local government areas in Kogi Central and a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He also noted that she is currently on bail in a similar matter pending before the FCT High Court.
The prosecution did not oppose the application but said that granting the application depends on the discretion of the court.
In his ruling, judge Umar held that the defendant’s being a member of the Bar is not relevant in the context. But the alleged offence “is bailable” and he granted the defendant bail on self-recognition, citing her status as a serving senator.
The judge then adjourned the matter until 22 September for the continuation of the trial.
The arraignment was initially stalled when it was first scheduled for 16 June due to the defendant’s absence from court.
Her lawyers said she had not been served the charges and that they did not receive filings on her behalf until around 9 a.m. that day. The prosecution had requested a bench warrant for her arrest, but the judge declined and questioned the prosecution’s timing of service.
The 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.
Both Messrs Akpabio and Bello have denied the assassination plot allegation.
Mr Akpabio described the claims as “false,” “malicious,” and “a complete fabrication.”
Mr Bello’s legal team labelled the remarks “reckless and inciting”.
The earlier related case
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate in March for six months over an unrelated issue, faces a similar defamation case before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, assassination plot claim Messrs Akpabio and Bello conspired to assassinate her.
In that case, filed on 16 May, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation also accused her of making false statements with the intent of damaging the reputation of Messrs Akpabio and Bello.
The charges, brought under Sections 391 and 392 of the Penal Code, allege that she made criminal imputations likely to injure the reputation of the politicians.
On 19 June, she pleaded not guilty, and trial judge Chizoba Orji granted her bail in the sum of N50 million, with one surety who must own landed property in Abuja.
The judge adjourned the matter till 23 September.
Aisha Yesufu criticises trial
Aisha Yesufu, a prominent political activist and vocal advocate of good governance who was with the defendant during the court session, spoke to journalists afterwards and described the case as “a waste of the nation’s time.”
She expressed disappointment that national resources are being expended on disputes between individuals who are “big enough to take care of themselves,” while the masses remain unheard and countless other cases await attention in court.
Ms Yesufu criticised the judiciary for allowing itself to be used as a tool of oppression, arguing that while cases involving justice for victims of injustice are repeatedly postponed, politically motivated ones are fast-tracked.
She called on the judiciary to stop enabling political office holders who abuse their power, stressing that the country should focus on saving lives rather than wasting time and scarce resources on unnecessary legal battles.
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