Senate President Godswill Akpabio has shed light on his decision to file a N40 billion defamation lawsuit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, citing her relentless use of online platforms to tarnish his image. In a clarification released by his media office, Akpabio debunked the Kogi State senator’s claim that the lawsuit was a sudden development.
Contrary to her assertions, the Senate President revealed that the legal action was actually initiated over three months ago. He explained that the case did not become public knowledge earlier because Akpoti-Uduaghan was allegedly dodging the delivery of court summons.
Akpabio emphasized that he is exercising his constitutional right to seek redress in court following what he describes as grave, baseless accusations designed to damage his reputation.
The statement read in part:
“On 5 December 2025, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan again resorted to social media to claim incorrectly and misleadingly that His Excellency, the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio, had only just filed a multi-billion-naira defamation suit against her over her unfounded allegations of sexual misconduct.
“These allegations, as the public is well aware, have never been supported by a single shred of evidence before the Senate Committee or before any competent authority.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the facts are clear, verifiable, and already before the court.
“Following Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s grave and unsubstantiated accusations capable of inflicting severe reputational damage, Senator Akpabio exercised his constitutional right to seek legal redress.
‘The suit was filed over three months ago. Its progress was temporarily delayed by routine administrative processes and the normal judicial procedures.
“Upon the resumption of judicial activities on the file, several attempts were made by the court’s bailiff to personally serve Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan with the originating processes.
“Each attempt failed due to her deliberate evasion of service, as deposed to under oath in the bailiff’s affidavit now before the court. Only after these repeated evasions did the court, in November this year granted the application for substituted service.
“Her claim that the matter was “just filed” is therefore false, misleading, and intended to distort public understanding of the case.
“We reiterate that legal disputes are resolved in courtrooms, not through orchestrated narratives and staged outrage on social-media platforms.
“The online applause Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan habitually seeks cannot replace credible evidence, legal procedure, or judicial scrutiny.
“This behaviour is consistent with her pattern during her six-month Senate suspension, an entirely lawful disciplinary measure she sought to delegitimise through digital agitation, only to ultimately serve the suspension in full.
“It is time for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to present the “evidence” she claims to possess before a court of competent jurisdiction, rather than relying on sensationalised commentary designed solely to attract sympathy and obscure the facts.
“The law is guided by proof, procedure, and due process, not sentiment, not emotion, and certainly not social-media theatrics. She is advised to properly instruct her lawyers, file her defence, and finally provide the evidence she purports to have for the baseless allegations she has peddled over this matter.
“This is her golden opportunity. The public, the media, and the legal community now await her defence to the defamatory claims of the plaintiff”