Defamation: Judiciary workers’ strike stalls Natasha’s arraignment

Natasha

The strike embarked by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria stalled the arraignment of the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Tuesday.

The strike which commenced on Monday, led to the closure of most of the courts, including all the Federal Capital Territory high courts.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was scheduled to be arraigned before the FCT High Court on Tuesday, June 3, over a criminal charge filed by the Federal Government over her defamatory statement against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and a former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

According to the charge marked CR/297/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan was accused of making criminal imputations during a live broadcast and a private phone conversation, which allegedly defamed Akpabio and Bello.

The charge highlighted one of the central allegations as the statements Akpoti-Uduaghan made on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme on April 3, 2025, where she alleged that both Akpabio and Bello discussed plans to assassinate her.

“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night—to eliminate me… He then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi,” the charge quoted her as saying. Punch