Federal Government of Nigeria has filed criminal charges against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for accusing one of the country’s top politicians of plotting to kill her.

In April, the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, and Yahaya Bello, a former state governor, wanted to “eliminate” her. Both have denied the accusation.

The case, which has stirred political and public reactions, underscores growing tensions within Nigeria’s political landscape, when the suspended senator accused the senate president of sexually harassing her – an allegation he also denied.

The government has now filed charges with the High Court, saying Akpoti-Uduaghan’s assassination allegation defamed Akpabio and Bello.

Filed under Charge No. CR/1277/25 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, before Honourable Justice C. N. Oji, the three-count charge was brought by the Department of Public Prosecutions on behalf of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation.

The government is accusing Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan of making imputations intended to harm reputations, contrary to Section 391 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 392 of the same law.

In the interview, Akpoti-Uduaghan spoke of “discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello… to eliminate me”.

She further implied that the withdrawal of her official security details by the Senate upon her suspension was a deliberate plot to make her “vulnerable to attacks”, suggesting an orchestrated attempt on her life.

The attorney general said this statement, and others made in the same broadcast, could harm Bello and Akpabio’s reputations.

The second count mirrors the first, on the imputation against Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan told the same television audience that a plan to assassinate her was not to be carried out in Abuja but in Kogi State under Bello’s watch.

 In her words: “A week and a few days later when [Akpabio] met with [Bello], he then emphasised that I should be killed… I delayed going home because I had to put some measures on the ground.”

She claimed to have reported the threats to the Inspector General of Police and made efforts to inform security operatives.

The prosecution contends that these allegations, made on national television, not only tarnished the character of Yahaya Bello but also presented a grave national security concern, especially given the implications of political violence.

 In a third charge, the Federal Government alleges that on March 27, 2025, during a telephone conversation with one Sandra C. Duru, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan made a horrifying claim implicating Senate President Akpabio in an alleged killing and organ harvesting.

According to court documents, she stated, “There was this girl that was killed, what’s her name, umm… Iniobong Umoren… Her organs were actually used for [Akpabio’s] wife because the wife was really ill three years ago…”

This claim, referencing a real-life murder case that once shocked the nation, is now being legally framed as a malicious and unsubstantiated attack on Senator Akpabio’s character, capable of inciting public outrage and diminishing public confidence in the leadership of the National Assembly.

The government maintains that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan acted recklessly and with malicious intent, abusing her public platform to spread defamatory and inflammatory statements that have far-reaching consequences for national peace, security, and democratic integrity.

Akpoti-Uduaghan has not responded publicly to the charges against her.

In March, after accusing Akabio of sexual harassment, Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the senate for six months without pay.

The senate’s ethics committee said the suspension was for “unruly and disruptive” behaviour during a debate in the senate, but her supporters argue that it was a result of her allegations against Akabio.