Defamation: Judiciary workers’ strike halts Natasha’s arraignment

The strike undertaken by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria stalled the arraignment of the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Tuesday.

The strike which began on Monday, resulted in the closure of most of the courts, including all the Federal Capital Territory high courts.

Recall that Akpoti-Uduaghan was billed to be arraigned before the FCT High Court on Tuesday, June 3, over a criminal charge filed by the Federal Government over her defamatory remarks against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and a former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

According to the charge marked CR/297/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan was charged with making criminal imputations during a live broadcast and a private phone conversation, which allegedly defamed Akpabio and Bello.

The charge spotlighted one of the central allegations as the statements Akpoti-Uduaghan made on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme on April 3, 2025, where she alleged that both Akpabio and Bello talked about plans to assassinate her.

“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night—to eliminate me… He then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi,” the charge quoted her as saying.

The government maintained that the senator told a woman named Dr Sandra Duru during a phone call that Akpabio was linked to the organ harvesting of the late Iniubong Umoren for his ailing wife.

She was charged under the sections 391 and 392 of the Penal Code, which deal with defamation and criminal harm to reputation.

Her lawyer, West Idahosa (SAN), had previously made a confirmation that his client was prepared to appear in court to answer the summons served on her.

He said, “Our client is a law-abiding citizen. Why wouldn’t she be there? It’s a summons we have undertaken. Only disrespectful institutions that disregard court orders would fail to appear, and she is not in that category.”