{"id":163713,"date":"2025-05-22T23:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T22:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation"},"modified":"2025-05-23T00:15:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T23:15:06","slug":"nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian govt sues Senator Natasha over defamation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The federal government has sued the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over alleged defamatory remarks made on live television.<\/p>\n<p>The suit marked CR\/297\/25 and filed before a federal capital territory high court on May 16, 2025, has Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant.<\/p>\n<p>The government accused the senator of \u201cmaking imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person\u201d, citing section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990. The offence is punishable under section 392 of the same law.<\/p>\n<p>The list of witnesses in the suit are the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and the immediate past governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello.<\/p>\n<p>The duo are said to tender evidence during the trial.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The federal government has sued the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over alleged defamatory remarks made on live television. The suit marked CR\/297\/25 and filed before a federal capital territory high court on May 16, 2025, has Akpoti-Uduaghan as the sole defendant. The government accused the senator of \u201cmaking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":163712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[1578,254,227,13501],"class_list":["post-163713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-breaking","tag-nigeria","tag-nigerian-govt","tag-senator-natasha"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nigerian govt sues Senator Natasha over defamation - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The federal government has sued the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nigerian govt sues Senator Natasha over defamation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The federal government has sued the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T22:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T23:15:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747943063.474658.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Nigerian govt sues Senator Natasha over defamation\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-22T22:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-22T23:15:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation\"},\"wordCount\":140,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1747943063.474658.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"breaking\",\"Nigeria\",\"Nigerian Govt\",\"Senator Natasha\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/nigerian-govt-sues-senator-natasha-over-defamation\",\"name\":\"Nigerian govt sues Senator Natasha over defamation - 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