Justice Muhammed Umar delivered the ruling on Monday after the prosecution, represented by David Kaswe, informed the court that the charge had been served on the senator’s lawyer earlier that day inside the courtroom.
However, Justice Umar ruled that since the senator had not previously been served with either the charge or a hearing notice, she could not have reasonably been expected to appear in court. He dismissed the prosecution’s plea for an arrest warrant, stating that serving the charge on her legal counsel did not amount to personal service or confirm her knowledge of the proceedings.
Following the ruling, the prosecution applied for substituted service through Akpoti-Uduaghan’s counsel, Johnson Usman — a request the court granted. The arraignment has been rescheduled for June 30.
The criminal charge was filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Government. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is the sole defendant in the case.
The FG accuses the senator of making defamatory statementsduring a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025. During the broadcast, she allegedly claimed that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello plotted to assassinate her and frame it as a local mob attack.
In one excerpt cited by the prosecution, Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly stated:
“Let’s ask the Senate President, why in the first instance did he withdraw my security, if not to make me vulnerable to attacks? He then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.”
She is also alleged to have said:
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night, to eliminate me.”
In a separate incident, the senator reportedly made damaging remarks during a phone conversation with Sandra C. Duru on March 27, 2025. She allegedly claimed that the organs of the late Iniubong Umoren were used for a transplant to save the Senate President’s wife.
The Federal Government maintains that the senator knew or should have known that her statements would harm the reputations of both Akpabio and Bello.
The prosecution listed Senate President Akpabio, Yahaya Bello, and four others as key witnesses in the forthcoming trial.
