‘She was evading service’- Akpabio dismisses claims of fresh N200bn suit against Natasha

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has rejected claims that he recently initiated new legal action against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, insisting that no fresh charges have been filed.

A statement issued on Saturday by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, described reports that the Senate President had “just filed” a N200bn lawsuit against her as both “misleading and incorrect.”

According to Udom, “Her claim that the matter was ‘just filed’ is therefore false, misleading, and intended to distort public understanding of the case.”

He explained that the suit in question was instituted more than three months ago and had only been slowed by administrative and procedural requirements within the judiciary.

The statement noted that, “Upon the resumption of judicial activities on the file, several attempts were made by the court’s bailiff to personally serve Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan with the originating processes.

“Each attempt failed due to her deliberate evasion of service, as deposed to under oath in the bailiff’s affidavit now before the court. Only after these repeated evasions did the court, in November this year granted the application for substituted service.”

Akpabio also maintained that disagreements should be settled through established legal channels rather than through online commentary. He argued that “legal disputes are resolved in courtrooms, not through orchestrated narratives and staged outrage on social-media platforms.

“The online applause Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan habitually seeks cannot replace credible evidence, legal procedure, or judicial scrutiny.”

The Senate President referenced what he described as a recurring pattern in her conduct, recalling her previous six-month suspension from the upper chamber.

“This behaviour is consistent with her pattern during her six-month Senate suspension, an entirely lawful disciplinary measure she sought to delegitimise through digital agitation, only to ultimately serve the suspension in full,” he said.

He urged Akpoti-Uduaghan to present whatever evidence she claims to possess before the court.

“It is time for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to present the ‘evidence’ she claims to possess before a court of competent jurisdiction, rather than relying on sensationalised commentary designed solely to attract sympathy and obscure the facts.

“The law is guided by proof, procedure, and due process, not sentiment, not emotion, and certainly not social-media theatrics. She is advised to properly instruct her lawyers, file her defence, and finally provide the evidence she purports to have for the baseless allegations she has peddled over this matter.”