FG Slams Criminal Charges on Senator Natasha Over Assassination Allegations

The Federal Government has filed criminal charges against the suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, following her explosive allegations made during a live television broadcast.

The charges stem from her appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025, where the embattled senator accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello of orchestrating a plot to assassinate her.

The case, now before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, lists the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the complainant and Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant.

According to court documents, the government alleges that Akpoti-Uduaghan made statements “knowing or having reason to believe that such imputations would harm the reputation of a person,” in violation of Section 391 of the Penal Code, an offence punishable under Section 392.

During the live broadcast, the senator stated: “I do stand by what I said… Akpabio had a discussion with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me. Ask the Senate President why he withdrew my security if not to make me vulnerable to attacks.”

The accusations did not start with the TV appearance. At a homecoming rally weeks earlier in Kogi, Akpoti-Uduaghan told supporters that Senate President Akpabio had reached out to Governor Usman Ododo to initiate her recall. When that failed, she claimed Akpabio turned to Yahaya Bello and allegedly financed a plan not only for her recall but also for her elimination.

“The meeting was in two folds,” she told the crowd. “He told him to commence my recall, and then he told him to kill me.”

The senator also alleged that Akpabio advised that if the killing was to be executed, it should not happen in Abuja, but in her home state—so it could appear as a local act of violence.

Though she says she notified police of the alleged threats, the claims have now landed her in court as a defendant in a criminal defamation case.

Among other things, the embattled senator allegedly accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello of orchestrating a plot to assassinate her.

Natasha also accused Akpabio of a political vendetta which she said was responsible for her her suspension from the Senate, noting that she had long faced threats due to her outspokenness and political battles since 2018.

It is also reported that the senator’s accusations did not start with the TV appearance, pointing also to “…a homecoming rally”, weeks earlier in Kogi, where Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of telling her supporters that Senate President Akpabio had reached out to Governor Usman Ododo to initiate her recall. When that failed, she claimed Akpabio turned to Yahaya Bello and allegedly financed a plan not only for her recall but also for her elimination.