Yahaya Bello Petitions Police Against Senator Natasha Over Alleged Assassination

Former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has filed a petition with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), seeking the prosecution of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP–Kogi Central) over statements he describes as defamatory, provocative, and potentially dangerous.

The petition, dated April 10 and signed by Bello’s counsel, Mr. N.A. Abubakar, accuses the senator of making false and inciting claims during a recent political gathering. Bello’s legal team is demanding that the police summon Akpoti-Uduaghan to substantiate her accusations with evidence. Should she fail to do so, the petition urges law enforcement to arrest and prosecute her under the relevant sections of Nigerian law.

According to the petition, the senator’s remarks constitute “criminal defamation, incitement to public disturbance, and dissemination of false information,” all of which are punishable offences.

The allegations stem from a political rally held on April 1 in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, where Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly accused Bello of being part of a broader political conspiracy involving Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

During her speech, she reportedly claimed that Akpabio summoned Bello, that a senator from Cross River State drive Bello from the Hilton Hotel, and that funds were exchanged in a plot to assassinate her .

Most notably, she is said to have alleged that “Akpabio told Yahaya Bello to make sure that she is killed.”

In a separate legal move, Bello, through another legal team led by Chief R.O. Balogun, SAN & Co., served the senator with a formal notice demanding a full retraction of the statements and a public apology.