ABUJA — Former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over alleged defamatory and inciting statements made against him by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP-Kogi Central).In a petition dated April 10 and signed by his lawyer, Mr. N.A. Abubakar, Bello called on the Nigeria Police Force to summon Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan to present evidence to support her claims or be arrested and prosecuted for criminal defamation, inciting public disturbance, and spreading false information.
Bello’s legal team described the senator’s remarks as false, reckless, and inciting, alleging that they amount to criminal defamation and incitement under Nigerian law.
The former governor also issued a separate legal notice to Akpoti-Uduaghan through Chief R.O. Balogun, SAN & Co, demanding a public retraction and apology over the alleged defamatory statements made at a political rally in Okehi Local Government Area on April 1.
At the rally, the senator was reported to have alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio sent for Bello and that another senator from Cross River “drove Yahaya Bello from the Hilton Hotel.” She further claimed that money changed hands as part of a plan for her recall, and that “Akpabio told Yahaya Bello to make sure that she is killed.”
Bello’s legal team argues these statements are not only damaging to his reputation but also dangerously inciteful.
His lawyer cited Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes Act (2015) and Sections 114 and 140 of the Penal Code, which criminalise the dissemination of false information and incitement likely to disturb public order.
