Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has expressed dismay over the refusal by security agencies and the Federal Government to act on 12 petitions she filed between March and May 2025, against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello.
The Kogi Central Senator who disclosed this in a statement issued by her legal Counsel, Uju Nwoduwu, on behalf of the team, described the development as selective response that raises deep concerns about biased enforcement of justice.
Nwoduwu in the statement, detailed 12 petitions submitted by Akpoti-Uduaghan, which he noted addressed grave issues such as cyberstalking, threats to life, defamation, and an alleged assassination plot.
He decried what he described as a troubling pattern of selective justice, following the filing of criminal charges against the senator by the Federal Government.
The legal team expressed concern that while Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s complaints remained uninvestigated, counter-allegations from those she named, including Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Governor Yahaya Bello, have been swiftly processed, culminating in criminal charges against her.
“The public expects law enforcement and prosecutorial bodies to uphold fairness, the rule of law, and impartial justice in all matters involving her.
“This selective response raises deep concerns about biased enforcement of justice,” the statement noted, adding that several of the petitions implicate high-profile figures and include incidents such as the abduction and attempted assassination of a protocol officer.
“Despite being out of the country on personal engagements, the senator has acknowledged official communication regarding the charges and has assured that she will present herself for arraignment once a date is confirmed.
“She remains fully committed to due process,” her legal team stated, while also appreciating the public’s condemnation of what they described as “an extremely curious criminal charge” and expressing optimism that “injustices against her shall not be sustained,” the statement read.
Nwoduwu, therefore, renewed call for impartial investigations into all pending petitions and a plea for justice to be applied equally to all parties involved.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has called on the Federal Government to immediately withdraw the criminal libel charge against the Kogi Senator by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, for allegedly defaming the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio in a recent television programme.
Falana who made the call in a statement he issued in Lagos on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, noted that the charge against Natasha contravened of her fundamental right to freedom of expression.
“We call on the Federal Government to withdraw the charge of criminal libel filed against the embattled Senator as it constitutes a contravention of her fundamental right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution and article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Ratification and Enforcement Act Cap A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“Once again, we are compelled to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the case of Arthur Nwankwo v. The State (1985) 6 NCLR 228 where the Anambra State High Court convicted and sentenced the appellant to one year imprisonment for publishing a book which had exposed corrupt practices under Governor Jim Nwobodo of Anambra state.
“The Court of Appeal set aside the conviction and sentence on the grounds that section 51 of the Criminal Code which provided for sedition was illegal and unconstitutional,” Falana said.
