Wife of the President of the Senate, Mrs. Unoma Godswill Akpabio, has filed a fundamental rights and defamation suits against Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan following her sexual harassment allegations against her husband.
Natasha-Akpoti who instituted the suits at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court is seeking N250billion as general damages
Natasha-Akpoti had claimed that Akpabio was victimizing her in the Senate because she refused to sleep with him.
She recounted how the Senate President made several sexual overtures at her, even in the presence of her husband.
But, Anioma had dismissed her claims, saying she was lying and creating contents for her personal gains.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, February 28th, Anioma threatened legal actions against Natasha.
The fundamental rights suit (Suit No: CV/814/25), was brought under Section 34(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 4 & 5 of The African Charter on Human And Peoples Rights (Ratification And Enforcement Act) Cap. A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Mrs. Akpabio sought the following, “A DECLARATION that the allegations made by the Respondent on the floor of the Senate on the 20th of February 2025 and subsequent scandalous and salacious allegations on Arise News TV by the Respondent, constitute a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the Applicant guaranteed under Section 34(1) (A) of The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), Article 4 & 5 of The African Charter on Human And Peoples Rights (Ratification And Enforcement Act) Cap. A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and Section 14 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Respondent from making further inciteful, scandalous, and spiteful statements that have caused the Applicant and her children emotional and psychological abuse and living under constant threat and fear of their lives.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Respondent, whether by themselves, their agents, privies, or whosoever from further inciteful, scandalous, and spiteful statements that have caused the Applicant and her children emotional and psychological abuse and living under constant threat and fear of their lives or in any other manner infringing on their fundamental rights.
“AN ORDER awarding the sum of N250,000,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Billion Naira only) as exemplary, punitive, aggravated and general damages against the Respondent for her infringement of the fundamental rights of the Applicant alongside such further or other Orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.”
Additionally, in a separate defamation lawsuit (Suit No: CV/816/25), Mrs. Akpabio seeks: “A DECLARATION that the Defendant’s act of claiming on national television, that the Claimant’s husband, who is the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria made sexual advances at her, without any proof of same, has damaged the reputation of the Claimant and indeed her entire family, bringing them into disrepute and opprobrium.
“AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT mandating the Defendant to issue a formal written retraction of the defamatory words and tender an unconditional apology to the Claimant and her family, to be published in 2 (two) nationally-read newspapers to wit: The Guardian and This Day Newspapers.
“AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT compelling the Defendant to pay to the Claimant the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira only) as punitive and exemplary damages for the ruinous effect of the Defendant’s defamatory words on the Claimant’s family’s reputation.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendant from further uttering any defamatory words or causing to be uttered or spread, any defamatory words against the reputation of the Claimant’s family.”
