Akpoti-Udughan and Nwaebonyi
SUSPENDED Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a N5 billion defamation lawsuit against Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi. She claims he falsely said she had six children with different men.
The suit, marked CV/1259/25, is before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja. Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer Mr M.J. Numa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said Nwaebonyi’s words were a deliberate attack on her reputation.
She told the court that these claims hurt her credibility and caused her great distress.
Nwaebonyi, who represents Ebonyi North Central and serves as Senate Deputy Chief Whip, made the statements on March 6, 2025.
During a Channels TV “Sunrise Daily” interview, he allegedly called her a “gold digger,” a “habitual liar,” and a “habitual blackmailer.”
He also claimed her husband, Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, married her under duress.
“These statements were broadcast nationally and rebroadcast across multiple online and social media platforms, thus ensuring wide publication,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that the statements portray her negatively.
“The alleged offensive statements in their natural and ordinary meaning are meant and were understood to portray the claimant: as someone who constantly extorts people for money through dishonest and unscrupulous means as a career,” she said.
They also suggest she lies often, seeks benefits through blackmail, and exploits men for money or gifts.
She added that Nwaebonyi knew the claims were untrue.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, he allegedly aimed to discredit her and justify her Senate suspension.
“The defendant made those false and reckless statements to prejudice the mind of the public against the claimant’s petition before the Senate,” she stated.
The senator seeks a perpetual injunction to stop Nwaebonyi, his associates, or anyone linked to him from repeating these or similar defamatory words. Plus, she asks for a retraction and apology in two national newspapers—both online and in print—within seven days of the court’s ruling.
She is demanding “the sum of N5 billion only, against the defendant being aggravated and exemplary damages in favour of the claimant for the false, malicious and injurious statements that have since caused the claimant considerable distress, reputational harm, embarrassment, and emotional distress.”
Credit: Sun Newspapers