Senate President Godswill Akpabio has filed a fresh ₦200 billion defamation lawsuit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, disclosed the development in a Facebook post on Friday, attaching a copy of the suit (No. FCT/HC/CV/3356/2025) filed before Justice U. P. Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
According to her, the suit will finally give her the opportunity to present her complaints before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, which she said had previously declined to hear her petition.
In the court filing, Akpabio accuses the Kogi Central lawmaker of making “false, malicious, and injurious” statements that allegedly portrayed him as a “sexual predator” and subjected him to “public hatred, contempt, and ridicule.” The Senate President is seeking monetary damages, public retractions, and apologies broadcast nationwide.
On November 6, the court granted an order for substituted service after bailiffs were unable to serve Akpoti-Uduaghan directly. The documents were later delivered through the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Confirming receipt of the suit, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she is prepared for a full trial, insisting the case now gives her the platform she was denied in the Senate.
Posting on Facebook and Instagram, she wrote: “I’m in receipt of the newly instituted ₦200bn suit against me by Senator Godswill Akpabio claiming defamation on sexual harassment.
Now, I am glad that Akpabio has brought this up because the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges failed to grant me an audience on this issue, relying on the fact that Godswill Akpabio’s wife had instituted a defamatory case against me.
Albeit, I couldn’t proceed to court because by Senate rules, I must still present my case before the Ethics Committee (the same committee that recommended my illegal suspension).
Alas, I now have a chance to prove how I was sexually harassed and how my refusal to give in to his demands unleashed a series of unprovoked and unprecedented attacks on my person. See you in court, Godswill Akpabio.”
Her statement immediately reignited debate about the escalating tensions within the 10th Senate, with observers describing the lawsuit as one of the most significant political confrontations between a Senate President and a sitting senator in recent years.
The Telegraph reported that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months in March 2025 after protesting the relocation of her seat during plenary. She repeatedly accused Akpabio of targeting her and once described him as a “dictator.”
Although her suspension lapsed in September, she said she could not resume immediately due to legal hurdles and what she described as internal pushback from Senate leadership. Her sealed office was eventually reopened by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Upon her return, she maintained she had “no apology to tender,” insisting efforts were underway to suppress dissent within the chamber.
With both lawmakers now heading for a legal showdown, the case is once again generating intense public attention.
