Adeyemi Adebanjo
EMBATTLED senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and her husband, High Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan have written Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, Senate Deputy Chief Whip, .accusing him of defamation and therefore demanded a retraction and a public apology.
In the letter of demand written on their behalf by their counsel, Dr. Enicgie WEST-Idahosa (SAN) of West-Idahosa, SAN & Co. and dated 27 March 2025, the couple demand a written apology from the senator within 14 days from the date of receipt of the letter. They also demand that the apology should be widely circulated.
“It must, in particular, be aired on News Central TV and published by various social media platforms which published your defamatory words.
“Failing a satisfactory response from you, our instruction is to initiate the necessary legal process to seek redress for our clients”, the letter titled: “Defamatory Statements Against Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan And Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan” read in part.
According to the couple, Senator Nwaebonyi sometime in March 2025 appeared on a programme where he was interviewed on News Central TV, which programme was aired by the said television station and its affiliates via Channel 422 on DSTV, Channel 23 on GOTV, Channel 274 on Startimes and Channel 23 on AVO.
They said in response to a question by the anchor of the programme, the senator said, among other things, that:
“Upon the slightest provocation, she would come up with an allegation of sexual harassment. I don’t know what is wrong with this lady. Does she think that she is the most beautiful woman on earth or is it because she has chocolate colour.
“In my own assessment, she is not among the most beautiful women in Nigeria and it is high time we come hard on her and why people like us are speaking on top of our voices is not just to protect and defend the Senate President but to protect and defend her future victims.
“Even her present husband, she married him out of something like this. She threatened to sue the man. I have a letter circulated over the world that the man should pay her N10,000,000,000.00 (Ten Billion Naira) or marry her under duress. So the marriage was under duress. A product of blackmail.
“I was watching a video of how the father of the 1st wife of the husband narrated her ordeal. When this lady came into their family, destabilized the family and took over her husband;[–d. And without going into her character, ask Senator Natasha how many husbands has she had in her life at the age of 47 or 45.”
The couple insists that the said defamatory statements made by the senator were widely circulated by users of other social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and many more within and outside Nigeria with the intention of damaging their reputation.
“The said defamatory statements uttered by you in the TV programme under reference were words which directly referred to our clients and their natural and ordinary meaning were understood by right-thinking members of society to respectively mean the following;
(a) That the said Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan is the victim of marital blackmail and not duly married to his wife as a result of his love for her.
(b) That the said Chief is a coward who only got married to his wife because he was threatened with a lawsuit.
(c That the said Chief is married to his wife under duress.
d That the said Chief has no self-esteem and human dignity being a person married under duress.
e That the said Chief is a bozo who is incapable of making his own decisions being a person living under matrimonial blackmail.
...And On Senator Natasha
a) That the distinguished Senator Natasha serially blackmails men with allegations of sexual harassment.
b That the distinguished senator is vain and has an over-estimated opinion of her own beauty.
c That the distinguished senator needs to be clamped down in order to defend and protect men from her blackmail activities.
d That the distinguished senator married her husband under duress having threatened to sue her husband for the sum of Ten Billion Naira (N10,000,000,000.00) and upon such threat, her husband had to marry her.
e That the distinguished senator is not married to her husband out of love for him.
f That the distinguished senator wrecked the previous marriage and family of her husband..
g That the distinguished senator has had many husbands in her lifetime.
h) That the distinguished senator is not a person of high ethical and moral standing.
The counsel maintains that since Nwaebonyi uttered the said defamatory words that were widely aired, some family members, friends, and political and business associates of his clients now view them with a strange level of disdain and distrust.
“Our clients have been deeply embarrassed by the extent and effect of your false and malicious words”.
Eighteen-Eleven Media