Senate President Godswill Akpabio has denied filing any fresh legal action against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing reports suggesting he “just filed” a N200bn suit as false and misleading.
Akpabio, in a statement on Saturday by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, said the defamation suit being referenced was instituted over three months ago, contrary to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s public claims.
“The claim that the matter was ‘just filed’ is false, misleading, and intended to distort public understanding of the case,” Udom said.
According to him, the case only appeared to have resurfaced recently because normal judicial processes and administrative delays slowed its movement earlier.
He added that several attempts by court bailiffs to serve Akpoti-Uduaghan with the originating processes were unsuccessful.
“Each attempt failed due to her deliberate evasion of service, as deposed to under oath in the bailiff’s affidavit now before the court,” he stated.
He explained that the court subsequently granted an order for substituted service in November after the alleged repeated evasions.
Akpabio accused the Kogi Central lawmaker of attempting to win public sympathy through what he called “orchestrated narratives” and “staged outrage” online.
“Legal disputes are resolved in courtrooms, not through social-media theatrics,” the Senate President declared. “The online applause she habitually seeks cannot replace credible evidence, legal procedure, or judicial scrutiny.”
He further linked her current posture to what he described as her behaviour during her six-month suspension from the Senate, which she had publicly criticised at the time.
“It is time for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to present the ‘evidence’ she claims to possess before a court of competent jurisdiction, rather than relying on sensationalised commentary designed to attract sympathy and obscure the facts,” he said.
Akpabio urged his colleague to instruct her lawyers properly, file her defence, and provide evidence to substantiate the allegations she has made in relation to the defamation matter.
“The law is guided by proof, procedure, and due process — not sentiment, not emotion, and certainly not social media,” he added.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier alleged that Akpabio filed a fresh N200bn lawsuit against her over her claims of sexual harassment and abuse of office.
The case remains before a Federal High Court.
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