The trial of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on allegations of cybercrime has been postponed to October 20 by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court had been set to begin full hearing on Monday, but proceedings stalled after her lawyers filed a fresh objection, questioning whether the court had the authority to handle the case.
At the resumed sitting, the Federal Government’s lawyer, David Kaswe, told Justice Mohammed Umar that his witness was ready to testify. But Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lead counsel, Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN), argued that the defence first filed a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court.
West-Idahosa said the objection was based on what he described as an abuse of the powers of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice. He also complained that the prosecution failed to serve him with full witness statements, which he said violated the constitutional rights of the defendant.
“Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution makes it compulsory that the defendant must be served with the proof of evidence to enable her to prepare her defence,” he told the court.
Kaswe, however, disagreed, insisting that the objection was not strong enough to stop the case from opening. “We have exercised our prosecutorial powers according to both the Constitution and the Cybercrime law. The AGF has the power to prefer charge against anyone,” he said.
Justice Umar ruled that he would first hear and decide on the objection before taking further steps on the trial.
Akpoti-Uduaghan is facing a six-count charge marked CR/297/25. The Federal Government accused her of making false claims that some politicians plotted to assassinate her.
According to the charge, she alleged during a rally in Kogi State and in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on April 3, that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi governor Yahaya Bello were part of a meeting where the plot to kill her was hatched.
The prosecution said she insisted that Akpabio and Bello agreed she should be eliminated in a way that would look like mob action. Government lawyers argued that the allegations were false and damaged the reputations of the two politicians, an offence said to be punishable under Section 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
The senator, who pleaded not guilty when she was first arraigned on June 30, was granted bail on self-recognition. She is also standing trial at a High Court in Maitama over alleged defamation of Akpabio and Bello. In that case, Justice Chizoba Orji granted her N50 million bail with one surety who must own a property in Abuja.
Her trial in the FCT court is scheduled to begin on September 23, while the cybercrime case will now resume on October 20.
