Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, was on Monday arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a six-count cybercrime charge.
The charges, filed by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, are under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act 2024. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/195/2025, alleges that Akpoti-Uduaghan transmitted false and injurious information electronically with the intent to malign, incite violence, endanger lives, and breach public order.
According to the charge, the Senator allegedly claimed during an address in Ihima, Kogi State, on April 4, 2025, that Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed former Governor Yahaya Bello to assassinate her. She reportedly repeated these allegations in a television interview, accusing both men of plotting to kill her in Kogi State.
Akpoti-Uduaghan pleaded not guilty. The prosecuting counsel, Abubakar, requested a date for trial commencement. Her defence counsel, Rowland Otaru (SAN), informed the court of a filed bail application, which the prosecution did not oppose.
Justice Mohammed Umar granted her bail on self-recognisance, noting her status as a serving Senator, and adjourned the trial to September 22.
This arraignment comes two weeks after she was charged with defamation before Justice Chizoba Oji of the FCT High Court. In that case, marked CR/297/25, she was accused of making harmful statements against Senate President Akpabio and former Governor Bello, including claims linking Akpabio to the death of Miss Iniubong Umoren.
She pleaded not guilty to the defamation charges and was granted bail at ₦50 million with one surety owning landed property within the court’s jurisdiction. That trial is set to commence on September 23.
