News
Abuja court grants Natasha bail over cybercrime *Trial begins, September 22
For the second time in two weeks, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senator representing Kogi Central at the National Assembly, on Monday, walked out of the court room, breathing the fresh air of freedom, this time securing a fresh bail on a six-count criminal case.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, while fixing September 22, 2025 for the trial to commence, allowed the bail plea by the Senator, standing trial for alleged Cybercrime against Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate and Yahaya Bello, former Governor of Kogi State.
Part of the charges, read: “That on or about the 1st day of April 2025 while addressing a crowd of people at Ihima Community, Kogi State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, You – SENATOR NATASHA AKPOTIUDUAGHAN intentionally caused the following communication to be transmitted via a computer system and network, to wit: “…and Akpabio told Yahaya Bello, Iam saying, standing by what I have said. He told him that he should make sure that killing me does not happen in Abuja, it should be done here, so it will seem as (if it is the people that killed me here…” And You, SENATOR NATASHA AKPOTI-UDUAGHAN, knew this contained a threat that could harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio GCON as the President of the Senate, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (2) (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under the same Act.
Count two: “That on or about the 1st day of April 2025 while addressing a crowd of people at Ihima Community, Kogi State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, You – SENATOR NATASHA AKPOTIUDUAGHAN intentionally caused the following communication to be tranamitted via a computer system and network, to wit:
“,…and Akpabio told Yahaya Bello, I am saying, standing by what I have satd. He told him that he should make sure that killing me does not happen in Abuja, tt should be done here, so tt will seem as (f it ts the people that killed me here…” And You, SENATOR NATASHA AKPOTI-UDUAGHAN, knew this contained a threat that could harm the reputation of Yahaya Adoza Bello, a former Governor of Kogi State. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (2) (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under same section of the Act.
To all the charges, the Senator, pleaded not guilty, prompting Roland Otaru, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), her to make strenuous efforts to convince, Umar to grant her bail on liberal grounds, citing several authorities to buttress his position.
On his part, Mohammed Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DOPPF), had after her plea, urged the court to fix a date to commence trial, and subsequently did not oppose bail after the arguments of the Senator’s lawyer.
Otaru, a professor of law, who had urged the court to exercise its discretion in favor of the Senator, on the ground that she was neither a flight risk now would she interfere with police investigation and witnesses, submitted further that the Nigerian Constitution presumed her innocent while the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 emphasised bail in such an offence.
While stressing his decision not to oppose the bail application, the DPPF, who admitted not filing a counter motion after receiving the motion in that regard, however urged the court to grant bail in such a way that will compel the Senator to attend trial.
The suspended Senator was put on trial by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) on fresh six-count criminal charges bordering on harmful imputations while making public comments and granting television interview.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, currently under a six-month suspension from Senate activities, following what was interpreted as unruly behaviour on the floor of the Red Chambers on February 20, following her direct attack on Akpabio, was as usual, accompanied by her husband into the court room to answer the charges.
The fresh suit coming on the heels of an earlier one at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and filed on May 16, 2025, marked: CR/297/25, is coming on the heels of a petition by Akpabio to the Inspector General of Police, where he complained on damages done to his reputation by the Senator on the accusation that he (Akpabio) planned to eliminate her in Kogi state.
In that particular case, Justice Chizoba Orji, had rejected the application by the Federal Government to remand her in prison custody pending trial, stating that there was no justification to deny her bail as there was “sufficient evidence” before the court showing her willingness to face trial.
However, in granting her a bail on N50million bond, she directed that the Kogi Senator must produce one surety, who must be a “person of integrity” and owner of a landed property within Abuja.
In the instant case, the docking of the female Senator, for cybercrimes, followed after investigation by the police, which found merit in the petition by the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, now Chairman of the National Assembly.
The FG which is prosecuting the matter through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), subsequently slammed a six-count criminal charge against her before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The allegations in the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/195/2025 are rooted in cybercrime provisions, revolve around her alleged transmission of false and injurious information via electronic means allegedly calculated to malign, incite, and endanger lives and breach public order.
Among the particulars of the charge are claims that Akpoti-Uduaghan, while addressing a gathering on April 4th 2025 in Ihima, alleged that Senator Akpabio instructed Bello to have her eliminated in Kogi State, same claims she also repeated in a television interview, suggesting a murderous conspiracy against her life by Akpabio and Bello.
Seriake Dickson, National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Wednesday showcased Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in the 2027 election, but gave a proviso – his importance would not be at the expense of the party.
A guest on Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, now Senator representing West at the National Assembly, maintained that the belief in some quarters that Obi’s entrance into the party was a favour was completely misplaced.
Instead, he argued that the opposite was the case, as it was the party that was doing its candidates a favour by giving them the opportunity to contest elective positions on its platform in the 2027 elections, a gesture that ought to be returned.
Hear him: “Don’t make it look like anyone is doing NDC a favour. No one is. Rather, the NDC and I and my colleagues are doing people a favour by granting our platform. If you are genuinely supporting Peter Obi and you are disparaging me, the leader, or the platform itself. That is nonsensical.”
Stressing that NDC had demonstrated confidence in Obi by adopting Obi as its sole presidential candidate and selecting a vice-presidential candidate without internal disputes, he said it was enough to earn its leadership the gratitude it deserved.
He added: “Nobody paid shishi. So, if a presidential candidate didn’t pay shishi to be made the sole presidential candidate and sole vice-presidential candidate, that same party cannot be the one saying that small people are underprivileged.
“I could have run. There’s no one more qualified than me. There’s no one more qualified than me to run for presidential candidate. None. There is no crisis within the NDC. Peter Obi is a cherished member of our party. On our own, we have made him a presidential candidate. Sole presidential candidate. And that counts for something. We are working well together. There’s no crisis.”
Invoking its zero tolerance on issues of security breaches, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has clamped down on aircraft and crew of the privately operated jet that landed on a roadway in the Ogwashi-Uku area near Asaba, Delta state.
Even with regulatory body for airline operations in Nigeria informed that no casualties were recorded in the incident, it still went for its sanctions in line with its sworn position of maintaining maximum safety at every point.
In a statement on Wednesday, Michael Achimugu, its spokesman said preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft conducted a missed approach while attempting to land at Asaba airport at about 7:43am.
Achimugu: Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, said: “Reports received from personnel at the scene indicate that all occupants safely exited the aircraft and were transported to Asaba by road,” Achimugu said. The aircraft had four (4) crew members on board. At this time, no injuries to passengers or crew have been reported.
“Preliminary information available to the authority indicated that the aircraft later departed the location and returned to Lagos without obtaining the required regulatory approval. Air traffic control was informed only after the aircraft had become airborne.”
Stressing that the action constitutes a violation of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) and is currently under investigation by the authority, he said the NCAA immediately grounded the aircraft upon its arrival in Lagos pending the outcome of investigations.
He added: “The flight crew have been placed under regulatory review while the NCAA conducts further inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the occurrence and the subsequent unauthorised departure of the aircraft.
“The NCAA has formally notified the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) of the occurrence and is coordinating with relevant aviation stakeholders, including the operator and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Stating that the NCAA immediately suspended the operator’s permit for non-commercial flight (PNCF), he added that the authority would review all operational, airworthiness, maintenance and flight-related records as part of its statutory responsibilities and take further enforcement action in accordance with applicable aviation regulations.
Achimugu said the NCAA remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety, security, and regulatory compliance within the Nigerian aviation sector.
Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Wednesday, swore to the integrity of the process that led to his picking the party’s ticket, saying it remained untainted and consistent with the wills of the members.
Against the backdrop of the insistence of Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), that he stole the ticket by corrupting the process, Atiku, Vice President between 1999 and 2007, pooh-poohed the claim.
Before the former SGF Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation as well as Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, both candidates in the contest for the ADC ticket, had rejected the process as flawed, even before the outcome.
Lawal, who had earlier announced his resignation from the ADC a fortnight ago and made sundry allegations of gaming the system against Atiku, had doubled down on Monday, while appearing on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, claiming he personally monitored the exercise and had evidence that the primary was rigged.
Hear him: “Don’t forget I was the National Vice Chairman (North-East). I was in the field during the exercise, so I have evidence. Atiku’s people are the ones trying to deny what they did. We are all human beings. We know what they did. I knew the primary was rigged at the point it was being done and the results declared.”
Regardless that neither Amaechi nor Hayatu-Deen had recanted their original position Atiku, insisted that nothing was amiss, adding that his opponents actually won in the areas of their individual popularity and stronghold.
Conveying his position through Phrank Shaibu, his spokesman, who appeared as a guest on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the former VP said: “Anybody who claims rigging or irregularity in the last election should check the places and locations they won. Where are the states that Rotimi Amaechi won? If you check the figures and the margins he got there, you will know that those are his strongholds. It was not a fraudulent process.
Maintaining that the burden of proving any fraud rested on the former SGF Shaibu, Shaibu depicted his boss as the most popular among the contestants, arguing that the outcome of the event should not be surprising to anybody.
He said of the ex-SGF: “Babachir reminds me of a baby who is yanked off her mother’s breast while suckling. It is like a deprived suckling; definitely the baby will throw tantrums. He admitted on your show that his preferred candidate was Hayatu-Deen. He worked for him.”
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