ABUJA – In a dramatic legal showdown shaking Nigeria’s political space, suspended Senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a staggering ₦5 billion defamation suit against fellow lawmaker Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, over allegations that she had six children with different men.
In court documents filed through her legal team led by SAN M. J. Numa, Senator Natasha described the remarks made by Nwaebonyi as “false, malicious, and deeply injurious.” She told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that the accusations were not just damaging—they were deliberately calculated to tarnish her image and discredit her role in Nigerian politics.
The controversy erupted on March 6, 2025, when Nwaebonyi, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate representing Ebonyi North Central, appeared on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily. During the live broadcast, he reportedly labeled Natasha a “gold digger,” a “habitual liar,” and a “habitual blackmailer,” adding that her husband, Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, “married her under duress.”
The broadcast was widely aired and circulated on social media, reaching millions—and leaving Senator Natasha, by her own account, humiliated and emotionally distressed.
“These comments weren’t just reckless,” she told the court. “They were a character assassination designed to justify my unlawful suspension from the Senate.”
She added that Nwaebonyi’s remarks painted her as a scheming woman who leverages relationships for financial gain and manipulates others through blackmail and deceit. The public backlash, she said, has since caused her “serious emotional trauma, reputational damage, and public embarrassment.”
Natasha, who is currently serving a six-month suspension from the Senate, believes the statements were part of a smear campaign to undermine her petition before the Senate Committee on Ethics—of which Nwaebonyi is ironically a member.
In the suit marked CV/1259/25, she is asking the court not only for monetary damages but also for a perpetual injunction stopping Nwaebonyi and anyone affiliated with him from repeating the allegations. She also wants him to publicly retract his statements and issue an unreserved apology in at least two national newspapers and digital platforms within 7 days of judgment.
She further seeks 10% annual interest on the judgment sum until full payment is made.
Calling herself a role model for women in politics, Natasha emphasized that such unfounded attacks shouldn’t be allowed to silence women who are breaking barriers and challenging the status quo.
“I am not here to destroy women’s chances in politics, I’m here to show them what is possible. I speak truth to power—and that makes some people uncomfortable.”
As the legal battle heats up, one thing is clear: this isn’t just about reputation—it’s about redefining how powerful women are treated in the political space.
No court date has been set yet, but all eyes are on this high-stakes clash under the dome of Nigeria’s Senate.
