ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a request by the Federal Government to issue a bench warrant against suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in connection with an alleged defamation case filed on behalf of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello.
At the hearing on Monday, June 16, 2025, hearing, the prosecution, led by Mr D.D. Kasue, informed the court that the matter was scheduled for arraignment, but the defendant was absent.
Kasue claimed that service had been effected through Akpoti-Uduaghan’s counsel earlier that morning and requested the court to issue a bench warrant for her arrest.
“It was this morning that we were able to serve the defendant through her counsel, but the defendant is not in court,” Kasue told the court.
“So it means the defendant is aware of this matter but decided not to appear in court. In the light of this, I apply that a bench warrant be issued against her.”
However, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s counsel, Mr Jacob Usman, SAN, swiftly objected, describing the application as “strange and uncourteous.”
He explained that he had only received the charge at 9:15 a.m. in the courtroom and that the senator herself had not yet seen it.
“I was served the charge at 9:15 this morning here in court, so how will the defendant know that the matter is coming up when she has not seen the charge?” Usman asked.
“If the defendant has not been served, she cannot be in court.”
Usman urged the court to discredit the prosecution’s request, describing it as made “in bad taste.”
Presiding judge, Justice Musa Umar, queried the prosecution about whether the defendant had been directly served.
When Kasue admitted she had not, the judge ruled that it would be inappropriate to issue a bench warrant without proper service.
“It is impossible to grant the application of the prosecutor and issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the defendant when she had not been served,” Justice Umar ruled.
Instead, the court approved the prosecution’s application — made as an afterthought — for substituted service through her counsel and adjourned the matter until Monday, June 30, 2025, for arraignment.
The case stems from alleged defamatory statements made by Akpoti-Uduaghan during a live appearance on Channels Television on Thursday, April 3, 2025.
She is accused of making unverified claims against Akpabio and Bello, including allegations of a plot to assassinate her.
