₦airaland Forum

Justice Musa Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, rejected an application by the Federal Government to have Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan arrested for failing to appear for the start of her defamation trial.

The government is prosecuting Akpoti-Uduaghan on behalf of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello.

At the day’s proceeding, the prosecuting counsel, David Kaswe, told the court that the matter was for arraignment but that the defendant was not in court.

Kaswe told the court that he served the charge on the defendant’s counsel which meant that the defendant was well aware of the matter.

The prosecutor prayed the court for a bench warrant to be issued against the defendant for failing to appear in court despite being aware of the charge against her.

“It was this morning that we were able to serve the defendant through her counsel but the defendant is not in court.

“So, it means the defendant is aware of this matter but decided not to appear in court, in the light of this, I apply that a bench warrant be issued against her for failure to attend court to take her plea in this criminal charge,” Kaswe said.

Counsel for Akpoti-Uduaghan, Jacob Usman (SAN), told the court that he found the application of the prosecution strange and uncourteous.

Usman told the court that when he got wind of the pendency of the suit, he called the prosecutor to let him know that his client had asked him to receive the charge on her behalf.

“I was served the charge at 9:15am this morning here in court so how will the defendant know that the matter is coming up when she has not seen the charge?

“I find the application strange and it should be dishonoured, if the defendant has not been served, she cannot be in court,” he said.

He prayed the court to dis-countenance the application as it was made in bad taste.

The trial judge, Justice Musa Umar, asked the prosecutor if he had served the charge on the defendant to which he answered in the negative.

Justice Umar, therefore, said that it was impossible to grant the application of the prosecutor and issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the defendant when she had not been served.

He refused the application for a bench warrant and rather granted the application for substituted service through her counsel which the prosecutor made in what seemed to be an afterthought.

The judge adjourned the matter to June 30, 2025 for arraignment.

The case was not unconnected to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s alleged defamatory comments made during a live television appearance on April 3, 2025.

She allegedly made defamatory comments against Akpabio and Bello including a plot to assassinate her.

“I was served the charge at 9:15am this morning here in court so how will the defendant know that the matter is coming up when she has not seen the charge?

Simeonee111:
https://www.channelstv.com/2025/06/16/court-rejects-fgs-application-for-bench-warrant-against-senator-natasha/

OEPHIUS:
It is no longer news that Nigeria’s Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio is set to decamp to the APC; what started has a rumour after his notable absence from the PDP NEC meeting has gathered so much momentum as the former Governor yesterday paid a visit to President Buhari in London.

The defection which seems very likely as Senator Akpabio has failed to release a statement against the rumors, comes as a shock to even the most assuming political analysts and journalists especially at a time when the main opposition party, the PDP has put its house in order and is set to welcome even more decampees from the disintegrating APC.

THE FACTS.

A closer look at the Akwa Ibom politician reveals a weak grasp in his home state of Akwa Ibom where he has been continuously hounded and blackmailed by President Buhari led APC administration over several allegations of corruption.

In 2015, The EFCC ran investigations on Akpabio which led to his subsequent arrest over a misappropriation of N101.8 billion state funds which plunged Akwa Ibom state into debt. The former Governor was not charged to court and resumed his duties in the floor of the senate.

In another report, the former Governor was probed again for gifting an unnamed commercial bank the sum of N1.4billion. Another case that was recorded but not taken to court.

The APC led Federal Government hounding of Senator Akpabio was so severe that the Akwa Ibom Government House was invaded by DSS agents in a plot to steal state secrets in an attempt to acquire more evidence against former Governor Akpabio.

In 2016, Senator Akpabio was arrested for a 3rd time by the EFCC when the Anti-graft commission alleged the illegal withdrawal of N18bn to the acquisition of a multi billion naira mansion at Plot 5, Okogosi Spring Close, off Katsina-Ala Crescent, Maitama-Abuja, a multi-billion naira mansionette at Plot 28 Colorado Close, Maitama, Abuja and another multi-billion naira mansion at 22 Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. For the 3rd time Senator Akpabio was released and no legal charges were filed.

JOINING THE APC

Since 2015, the once vibrant politician lost his voice and failed woefully to provide proper leadership as minority leader in the senate due to the subsequent media backlash against his person and the corruption allegations being thrown around his name.

While other Senators like Bukola Saraki faced all allegations and politically motivated persecution head on, Akpabio may have opted to quietly plead and “settle” with his blackmailers at the expense of the senate, his party, his political career and now ultimately, the people of Akwa Ibom State.

The Anti Corruption War

A move largely perceived as desperate, Akpabio’s defection to APC puts the final coffin to President Buhari’s anti corruption war. It further confirms the long assumed ideology that the APC is a party of protected corruption, where the members and high rollers of corruption in Nigeria are immune from persecution. Senator Akpabio’s rich history of corruption and corrupt allegations is set to be magically swept under the rug.

The same Government that hounded Akpabio, arrested him several times and invaded his former office with DSS agents to get evidence against him have thrown their arms wide open to receive him in their fold. Whether Akpabio was threatened to join the APC or not, it will go down in history that he was a subdued man.

Buhari’s infamous integrity has failed the litmus test with Akpabio. The Nigerian President who prides himself as incorruptible has thrown caution to the wind and made Senator Akpabio, one of the most corrupt persons in Nigeria according to President Buhari’s EFCC to be the Apple of the APC’s eye.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Senator Godswill Akpabio’s corruption allegations have long been in the wind perhaps as hard evidence which has been used recently to blackmail the former Governor. Perhaps enough evidence to get a conviction at the court which would see Akpabio off to prison. However; with the new turn of events, Akpabio who has been alleged to have his eyes on the prized seat of Senate President, may begin to enjoy the peace of mind that comes as he is no longer a perceived threat to the President Buhari administration, perhaps at the expense of his own political goodwill.

http://thepunditng.com/akpabios-defection-the-hypocrisy-of-president-buharis-anti-corruption-war/

Simeonee111:
https://www.channelstv.com/2025/06/16/court-rejects-fgs-application-for-bench-warrant-against-senator-natasha/

whyteteeth:
…………………………………Natatsha should be arrested and locked up. All her properties confiscated. She should be stripped off her title and removed from social media. She lacks decorum and should be treated as a nobody.

whyteteeth:
…………………………………Natatsha should be arrested and locked up. All her properties confiscated. She should be stripped off her title and removed from social media. She lacks decorum and should be treated as a nobody.

buchiuzor:
A sitting senator? Has she been recalled?
And the layer was Served this morning despite all the media hype? What if she is out of town? We have too many things on our table now to be distracted again. Over 200 people were roasted like Suya or murdered in Benue.

#Justice4Benue

buchiuzor:
A sitting senator? Has she been recalled?
And the layer was Served this morning despite all the media hype? What if she is out of town? We have too many things on our table now to be distracted again. Over 200 people were roasted like Suya or murdered in Benue.

#Justice4Benue

whyteteeth:
…………………………………Natatsha should be arrested and locked up. All her properties confiscated. She should be stripped off her title and removed from social media. She lacks decorum and should be treated as a nobody.

AWONEYAN:
HASATAN. Spell Natasha backwards

When will you provide evidence.

Lets hear word abeg