Suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has fired back at Senate President Godswill Akpabio, insisting she did not flout any court orders by posting a satirical video on Facebook.
This comes after Akpabio’s legal team, led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), filed a motion at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing Natasha of violating a judicial directive that restricted her from granting interviews or posting about the case on social media.
The controversy stems from a viral April 27 video, in which Natasha mockingly apologized to Akpabio. In the video, she said she was “sorry for the crime of maintaining dignity” and sarcastically expressed regret for not letting Akpabio “have his way” with her—clearly referencing past allegations of sexual harassment.
But in a counter-affidavit, Natasha stated the post was political satire protected by Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression. She denied violating any court order or referencing the legal matter in the video.
She also accused Akpabio’s camp of double standards, noting that one of Akpabio’s lawyers, Monday Ubani (SAN), made his own public Facebook comment about the case on May 4, which directly criticized her.
Natasha described Akpabio’s fresh court motion as “malicious, intimidating, and an abuse of legal process.”
With both sides firmly entrenched, the court battle between the suspended senator and Nigeria’s Senate President is shaping up as a test of freedom of speech, judicial restraint, and gender dynamics in Nigeria’s legislative politics.
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