The feud between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan intensified on Friday as Akpabio filed a N200 billion defamation suit against the Kogi Central lawmaker.
Akpoti-Uduaghan confirmed receipt of the court documents on her social media pages, sharing a copy of the suit filed before Justice U. P. Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
In the suit, Akpabio accused the senator of making “false, malicious and injurious” allegations that portrayed him as a “sexual predator,” claims he said have subjected him to “public hatred, contempt and ridicule.” He is seeking substantial damages, public retractions, and broadcast apologies across major media platforms.
The court had earlier granted an order for substituted service on November 6 after bailiffs failed to serve Akpoti-Uduaghan personally. The documents were eventually delivered through the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Reacting to the lawsuit, Akpoti-Uduaghan described the legal action as an opportunity to present her case. She said the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges previously declined to hear her allegations, leaving her without a formal forum to air her grievances.
“I am ready for full trial,” she stated. “This is my chance to present the allegations the Ethics Committee refused to consider. I look forward to proving my claims in court.”
The development marks a fresh chapter in the long-standing rift between the Senate President and the Kogi Central lawmaker, which has drawn significant public attention in recent months.
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“Now, I am glad that Akpabio has brought this up,” she wrote. “The Ethics Committee declined to hear me on the grounds that his wife had filed a defamation suit, so they couldn’t handle a matter already before the court.
“Yet I couldn’t proceed to court because Senate rules require me to first present my case to that same committee.
“At last, I now have a chance to prove how I was sexually harassed and how my refusal to give in to his demands unleashed unprecedented attacks on my person. See you in court, Godswill Akpabio.”
Her posts immediately reignited public debate, with political watchers describing the development as an unprecedented clash between the head of the National Assembly and a sitting senator.
The rift stretches back months. In March, Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months after objecting to the relocation of her seat during plenary, a move she claimed was targeted at silencing her.
She accused Akpabio of running the Senate with an iron fist and once publicly labelled him a “dictator.”
Although her suspension formally expired in September, she was unable to return to the chamber immediately due to what she called internal resistance from Senate leadership.
Her sealed office was eventually reopened by Sergeant-at-Arms officials, and she resumed without offering any apology.
