Alleged sexual harassment: Akpabio’s wife files N250bn lawsuit against Natasha Akpoti
Wife of Senate President, Unoma Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
Published By: Ayorinde Oluokun
By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Wife of the Senate President, Unoma Godswill Akpabio, has filed a N250 billion lawsuit against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over sexual harassment allegation against her husband.
The Kogi Central Senator had accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio of frustrating her in the Senate because she refused to yield to his sexual advances.
However, Unoma had at a press conference also on Friday accused Natasha of lying against her husband.
She had also vowed to drag the Kogi Central Senator to court over the allegation against her husband.
The suit was filed in fulfilment of that promise.
Aside the N250 billion, Unoma also asked Natasha to tender unconditional apology in two national newspapers over the allegation against her husband in the lawsuit instituted at High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
In the fundamental rights case (Suit No: CV/814/25), filed under Section 34(1)(a) of the amended 1999 Constitution and Articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act) Cap. A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, Mrs. Akpabio is seeking:
“A DECLARATION that the allegations made by the Respondent on the floor of the Senate on the 20th of February 2025 and subsequent scandalous and salacious allegations on Arise News TV by the Respondent, constitute a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the Applicant guaranteed under Section 34(1) (A) of The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), Article 4 & 5 of The African Charter on Human And Peoples Rights (Ratification And Enforcement Act) Cap. A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and Section 14 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Respondent from making further inciteful, scandalous, and spiteful statements that have caused the Applicant and her children emotional and psychological abuse and living under constant threat and fear of their lives.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Respondent, whether by themselves, their agents, privies, or whosoever from further inciteful, scandalous, and spiteful statements that have caused the Applicant and her children emotional and psychological abuse and living under constant threat and fear of their lives or in any other manner infringing on their fundamental rights.
“AN ORDER awarding the sum of N250,000,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Billion Naira only) as exemplary, punitive, aggravated and general damages against the Respondent for her infringement of the fundamental rights of the Applicant alongside such further or other Orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.”
In addition, Mrs. Akpabio is pursuing a separate defamation case (Suit No: CV/816/25) with specific objectives in mind.
“A DECLARATION that the Defendant’s act of claiming on national television, that the Claimant’s husband, who is the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria made sexual advances at her, without any proof of same, has damaged the reputation of the Claimant and indeed her entire family, bringing them into disrepute and opprobrium.
“AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT mandating the Defendant to issue a formal written retraction of the defamatory words and tender an unconditional apology to the Claimant and her family, to be published in 2 (two) nationally-read newspapers to wit: The Guardian and This Day Newspapers.
“AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT compelling the Defendant to pay to the Claimant the sum of ₦1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira only) as punitive and exemplary damages for the ruinous effect of the Defendant’s defamatory words on the Claimant’s family’s reputation.
“AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendant from further uttering any defamatory words or causing to be uttered or spread, any defamatory words against the reputation of the Claimant’s family.
“ANY FURTHER OR ANCILLARY ORDER or other Orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.”
