Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has slammed her colleague, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi with a N5 billion lawsuit for alleging that she has six children for different men.

Speaking through her team of lawyers led by M. J. Numa, SAN, Akpoti-Uduaghan called the claim false, adding that it is meant to tarnish her reputation.

According to the suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Nwaebonyi said the allegation has caused her considerable distress and embarrassment to her credibility and public perception.

“These statements were broadcast nationally and rebroadcast across multiple online and social media platforms, thus ensuring wide publication,” the claimant added, insisting the claims were false, malicious and targeted at bringing her image to disrepute.

“The claimant further contends that these statements, in their natural and ordinary meaning, are meant and were understood to portray the claimant as someone who constantly extorts people for money through dishonest and unscrupulous means as a career.

“As someone who demands money or other benefits from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them. As a woman who forms relationships with men purely to obtain money or gifts from them.

“As someone who constantly tells lies and does not speak the truth on most occasions and as someone who uses the threat of damaging information to coerce others into acting in her favour,” the statement said.

Speaking further, Akpoti-Uduaghan told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the defamatory statements were made deliberately in an attempt to justify her illegal suspension by the Senate.

“That the defendant, who is equally a member of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions of the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, made those false and reckless statements to prejudice the mind of the public against the claimant’s petition before the Senate.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the court  to award “the sum of N5 billion only, against the defendant being aggravated and exemplary damages in favour of the Claimant for the false, malicious and injurious statements that have since caused the claimant considerable distress, reputational harm, embarrassment, and emotional distress.”

As of the time of filing this report, no date has been fixed for hearing on the case.