Akpabio seeks N200bn damages as he files defamation lawsuit against Natasha Akpoti over sexual harassment allegations

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has filed a two hundred billion naira defamation suit against Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan of Kogi Central over sexual harassment allegations she made against him.

The suit was lodged at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja. In a Facebook post, Akpoti Uduaghan confirmed receiving notice of the case, saying it finally gives her “a chance to prove how I was sexually harassed.”

“Today being the 5th day of December, 2025, I’m in receipt of the newly instituted 200 billion naira suit against me by Senator Godswill Akpabio claiming defamation on sexual harassment,” she wrote.

She welcomed the development, stating that the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges had previously refused to grant her an audience, arguing that they could not examine a matter already before a court because Akpabio’s wife had filed a defamation suit against her. She said Senate rules prevented her from initiating her own court action until she had first presented the matter before the Ethics Committee, the same panel that recommended her controversial suspension.

“Alas, I now have a chance to prove how I was s3xually harassed and how my refusal to give into his demands unleashed series of unprovoked and unprecedented attacks on my person,” she added.

Attached to her post was a court order issued on November 6 by Justice U. P. Kekemeke, directing that she be served through substituted means via the clerk of the National Assembly. The case is scheduled to begin on January 21, 2026.

Akpoti Uduaghan first made the allegations in a February interview on Arise TV, claiming that Akpabio made sexual advances toward her in his office and at his residence in Akwa Ibom, and that her challenges in the Senate began after she rejected him. Akpabio has strongly denied the allegations.

The two lawmakers had previously clashed openly on the Senate floor over changes to the seating arrangement, reflecting an already tense relationship before the sexual misconduct accusations emerged.

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