NATASHA’S TRIAL: YESUFU, EZEKWESILI OTHERS PRESENT IN COURT
Read Time:2 Minute, 40 Second
By Jen Nomamiukor
A former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has reached the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, located in Maitama, in advance of the anticipated arraignment of the suspended Senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Ezekwesili, who consistently stood in public support of the beleaguered female legislator, was accompanied in the courtroom by other prominent human rights advocates, including Aisha Yesufu.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is scheduled to present her plea before trial Justice Chizoba Orji.
She arrived at the courthouse, which had been fortified with armed security personnel, accompanied by her spouse and legal representatives, at approximately 10:27 am.
The court clerk had previously notified those waiting within the courtroom that the judge would begin proceedings at 11 am.
The Federal Government is charging the legislator regarding an accusation that she fabricated a statement asserting that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, were involved in a scheme to eliminate her.
The Federal Government, in the three-count indictment designated CR/297/25, asserted that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, identified as the exclusive defendant, issued the erroneous and slanderous statements while participating as a guest on live television.
It specifically accused the lawmaker, who is currently on a six-month suspension, of making “imputation, knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person.”
According to the charge, by making such false imputation that tarnished the image of others, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan committed an offence under 391 of the Penal Code, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
It added that the alleged offence is punishable under section 392 of the same law
.
Providing specifics of the infringement in count one of the indictment, the federal government informed the court that the defendant perpetrated the purported offense on April 3.
The legislator was reported to have claimed that certain politicians in opposition to her were conspiring to execute her assassination.Meanwhile, among those listed as witnesses in the matter were Akpabio and Bello, who were cited as nominal complainants.
Other witnesses billed to testify in the case are two police officers who investigated the matter, Maya Iliya and Abdulhafiz Garba; a Senator, Asuquo Ekpenyong and one Sandra Duru.
The accusation, dated May 16, followed a correspondence from Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, in which she alleged that law enforcement displayed partiality in the examination of her grievances against the Senate President.
It will be recalled that the Federal High Court in Abuja had fixed June 27 to determine the legality or otherwise of the six-month suspension that was slammed on the defendant by the Senate.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan approached the court after she was summoned to appear before the disciplinary committee following a faceoff she had with the Senate President during plenary on February 20.
While protesting alleged arbitrary change of her seating position, she repeatedly raised a point of order to be allowed to speak, even though she had been overruled by the Senate President.
Irked by her conduct, the Senate President referred her case to the Ethics Committee.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0