The senator from Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has sued Senate President Godswill Akpabio for slander, claiming N100 billion.
Akpoti-Uduaghan said in the lawsuit, which was submitted to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court on Tuesday, that Akpabio and his legislative assistant, Mfon Patrick, had disparaged her in their remarks.
Using a major newspaper, Akpoti-Uduaghan requested that the court order the respondents to withdraw the disparaging remarks and provide an apology to her.
“A DECLARATION that the words caused to be published by the 1st and 2nd Defendants and published by the 3rd Defendant acting as the legislative aide to the 1st Defendant on his Facebook page with the heading – “IS LOCAL CONTENT COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE NATASHA BIRTHRIGHT”, where the 3rd Defendant at the prompting of the 1st and 2nd Defendants continued further thus: “it is a 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” is defamatory, provocative, disparaging, lowering in dignity the estimation of the Claimant in the eyes of her colleagues and right-thinking members of the public,” the court document reads.
“AN ORDER of this honourable Court compelling the Defendants to withdraw the said defamatory words and publication made against the Claimant immediately and to apologize to the Claimant in writing and publish the same in one national daily newspaper widely circulated within the jurisdiction of this Court.
“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 herein stated or any other similar publications about the Claimant on the social media platform or in any other manner, which is capable of defaming the Claimant.
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“An Order for payment of the sum of N100, 000,000,000 (ONE HUNDRED BILLION NAIRA as general damages.
“An Order for payment of the sum of N300, 000,000.00 (Three Hundred Million Naira) only as cost of action.”
On February 20, the Kogi senator was involved in a heated argument with Akpabio over seat allocation in the upper chamber.
The disagreement began when her seat was reassigned at the start of plenary, but she refused to comply with the relocation.
On Tuesday, the upper chamber referred the Kogi senator to the committee on ethics, privileges, and public petitions for disciplinary review.
