Senator Natasha H. Akpoti Uduaghan of Kogi Central has been served with a newly instituted N200 billion defamation suit filed by Senator Godswill Akpabio, alleging defamation over claims of sexual harassment.
In a statement released on Thursday, 5 December 2025, Akpoti Uduaghan welcomed the move, noting that it provides her the first opportunity to present her side of the matter before a court, after previously being denied audience by the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
“The Senate Committee relied on the fact that Godswill Akpabio’s wife had instituted a defamatory case against me, and therefore they could not attend to a matter already in court,” she said. Under Senate rules, Akpoti Uduaghan explained, she was required to present her case to the Ethics Committee— the same panel that had recommended her suspension—before pursuing legal action.
She added that the lawsuit now allows her to provide evidence of the alleged sexual harassment and the subsequent unprovoked attacks she claims followed her refusal to comply with Akpabio’s demands.
“Alas, I now have a chance to prove how I was sexually harassed and how my refusal to give in unleashed a series of unprovoked and unprecedented attacks on my person. See you in court, Godswill Akpabio,” she stated.
The N200 billion suit marks a high-profile escalation in the ongoing legal and political dispute between the two senators.
