…Court grants bail on self-recognition
The Federal Government on Monday arraigned suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan before the Federal High Court in Abuja on six counts of alleged cyberbullying and defamation involving the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
Appearing in court alongside her husband, the senator pleaded not guilty to all charges. The prosecution, acting through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, alleged that Akpoti-Uduaghan made inflammatory public remarks and repeated them during a televised interview, in breach of Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act.
According to the charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/195/2025, the lawmaker was accused of stating at a public gathering on 4 April 2025 in Ihima, Kogi State, that Senator Akpabio had instructed former Governor Bello to plan her assassination.
The charges further alleged that she reiterated these claims on television, suggesting a murder plot designed to implicate her own community, thereby misleading the public and endangering social order.
Prosecuting counsel, Mohammed Abubakar, requested that the court set a trial date to begin proceedings without delay.
In response, defence counsel, Prof. Roland Otaru (SAN), applied for bail, requesting that his client be granted release on self-recognition. He argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan posed no flight risk and would not interfere with the investigation.
Presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, granted the bail request and released the senator on self-recognition. The court fixed 22 September 2025 as the commencement date for trial.
The court had earlier rejected an application for a bench warrant submitted by previous prosecuting counsel, David Kasue, who cited the senator’s earlier absence in court. The defence countered that the charge had only been served that same morning, making the warrant request premature.
