Prominent human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Femi Falana, (SAN) has advised Senate President Godswill Akpabio to pursue a civil libel suit rather than involving the police in his defamation case against suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Akpabio had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over remarks made by Akpoti-Uduaghan at a Kogi rally, alleging they constituted criminal defamation and incitement.
He requested her prosecution, also copying the Attorney General of the Federation.Responding, Falana described the matter as a politically motivated civil dispute, cautioning against criminalising free speech. Citing a 1985 Court of Appeal ruling, he stressed that public officials should seek redress through civil litigation, not state machinery.
“If defamed, Senator Akpabio should file a libel suit in the appropriate court,” Falana stated.
