Embattled Senator representing Kogi State Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has dragged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio before a Federal Capital Territory High Court, demanding N100.3 billion as damages over alleged defamation.
In the suit filed today, February 25, Natasha joined the President of the Senate, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senior Legislative Aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick, as first, second and third defendants respectively.
In the suit, marked CV/737/25, Natasha, through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, alleged that defamatory statements were made by the Senate President and published by his aide on Facebook.
According to the suit, the post, titled: “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?” included a statement suggesting that Natasha believed being a lawmaker was only about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.
The suit said that the statement was defamatory, provocative, and disparaging, lowering Natasha’s dignity in the eyes of her colleagues and the public.
It wants “A DECLARATION that the words, ‘It is bottled anger by the Kogi lawmaker, who knows nothing about legislative rules. She thinks being a lawmaker is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers,’ used and written by the third defendant at the prompting of the first and second defendants, is defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection toward the claimant.”
The suit urged the court to restrain the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory statements against her on any platform.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the defendants, whether acting by themselves or through their agents, privies, assigns, or associates, from further publishing or causing to be published the said defamatory words or any similar publications about the claimant on social media or in any other manner capable of defaming her.”
Natasha further asked the court to order the defendants to pay her N100 billion in general damages and N300 million as litigation costs.
“An order for the payment of the sum of N100,000,000,000 as general damages. An order for the payment of the sum of N300,000,000 as the cost of action.”
