…as Senate President files N200bn defamation suit against female lawmaker
. ‘I’m now ready to prove my case against Akpabio’, Natasha vows in reaction to suit
As the legal battle begins over claims and counter-claims of alleged sexual harassment between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the female lawmaker says she is ready to prove her sexual harassment case against Akpabio.
She said this in response to a N200 billion defamation suit filed against her by the Senate President, in Abuja, on Friday, as she confirmed receipt of the lawsuit.
According to the lawmaker, Akpabio’s suit has afforded her the opportunity denied her by the Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee to prove her allegations before a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Kogi Central Senator declared in a statement that the court case now provided the platform she had long been waiting for.
She vowed to prove that she was indeed sexually harassed and that her refusal to submit to the alleged advances triggered sustained political attacks against her.
“See you in court, Godswill Akpabio,” Natasha declared.
Akpabio had filed a N200 billion defamation lawsuit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, accusing her of publishing malicious allegations that he sexually harassed her.
Documents from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory show that Akpabio is demanding extensive damages, retractions, and nationwide broadcast apologies, insisting that the senator’s claims severely injured his reputation and subjected him to public ridicule.
The Senate President in his suit, which includes a detailed Statement of Claim and a list of witnesses, alleges that Senator Akpoti’s interviews aired on television, radio, and widely circulated online painted the Senate President as a predator who exploited his position for personal gratification.
Akpabio argues that millions of Nigerians consumed the content, creating a wave of backlash that he describes as damaging, humiliating and deeply distressing.
Akpabio is asking the court to compel the removal of all online materials containing the allegations and to order an apology broadcast across major media outlets for several consecutive days.
A court order issued on 6 November 2025 granted the claimant permission to serve court processes on Senator Akpoti through the Clerk of the National Assembly, following unsuccessful attempts at direct service.
The case is now set to move forward as parties prepare for what is expected to be one of the most closely watched legal battles in Nigeria’s political history.
