The Nigerian government has withdrawn the cyberbullying and criminal defamation charges filed against Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over allegations she made against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
The charges were instituted last year following public remarks in which the senator accused Mr Akpabio and Mr Bello of plotting to assassinate her.
She made the claims during a live television interview and at a homecoming rally in Ihima, Kogi State, in April 2025.
A notice of discontinuance seen on Sunday, 4th of January, 2026 showed that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation has formally terminated the cyberbullying case pending at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The application, filed on 18 December, was signed by a team of lawyers from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation.
The government is also expected to withdraw the related criminal defamation case pending before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was charged with criminal defamation under Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, which criminalises imputations made with the knowledge that they could harm a person’s reputation.
The second case accused her of cyberbullying under provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
Both Mr Akpabio and Mr Bello had denied the allegations, describing them as false and malicious.
The trials had suffered repeated delays due to preliminary objections filed by the senator, including challenges to the powers of the Attorney-General to prosecute the matter.
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate for six months in March 2025 and recalled in September, is still awaiting a Court of Appeal judgment on the legality of her suspension.
