FG files fresh cybercrime charges against Natasha

The Federal Government has filed a fresh legal case against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, intensifying its legal battle with the lawmaker barely weeks after initiating similar proceedings at the FCT High Court.

The new suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, is registered as FHC/ABJ/CR/195/25. It accuses the senator of making online statements allegedly injurious to the reputations of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

Unlike the initial case pending at the FCT High Court, which is grounded on criminal defamation under the Penal Code, the latest charge draws upon provisions of the newly amended Cybercrime Act, 2024. Despite revolving around the same set of facts and comments, the federal government is now pursuing the senator simultaneously in two different courts—an unusual legal strategy that has raised eyebrows among legal practitioners and observers.

Critics argue that the dual prosecution could suggest a calculated attempt to secure a conviction by testing multiple judicial avenues.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central in the National Assembly, has yet to publicly respond to the fresh charges.

The cases stem from online statements allegedly made by the senator, which the federal government claims were defamatory to both Akpabio and Bello. The specifics of the statements in question have not been fully disclosed, but they have become the basis of the government’s increasingly aggressive legal pursuit.

As of the time of filing this report, the Federal High Court is yet to fix a date for the arraignment of the senator in the new case. Meanwhile, proceedings in the earlier case at the FCT High Court are ongoing.