West Idahosa (SAN), the lead counsel to suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District of Kogi State, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has confirmed that she will appear in court on Tuesday, as summoned.

However, he expressed uncertainty about whether the Federal Government planned to arraign her on Tuesday.

He said that whatever the plans of the Federal Government, Akpoti-Uduaghan, as a law-abiding citizen, would comply with the court’s directives.

The Federal Government, through the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, filed criminal charges against Akpoti-Uduaghan, alleging that she made defamatory statements during a live television broadcast and a private telephone conversation.

These statements reportedly targeted the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

According to the charge, filed on May 16, 2025, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court and marked CR/297/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making a statement during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels TV on April 3, 2025, where she alleged that Akpabio and Bello discussed plans to assassinate her.

“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night— to eliminate me… he then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi,” the charge quotes her as saying.

Additionally, the government accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of making defamatory remarks in a telephone conversation on March 27, 2025.

In the conversation with a woman named Dr Sandra Duru, Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly claimed that Akpabio was linked to organ harvesting involving the late Iniubong Umoren, purportedly for the benefit of his ailing wife.

Akpabio, Bello, and four others have been listed as key witnesses in the trial.

Idahosa also reiterated the readiness of the legal team to defend Akpoti-Uduaghan in court.

He said, “If the case is called tomorrow, we will respond accordingly with our client.

“The issue of protest is irrelevant to us — we are lawyers, and our focus is on defending charges we believe can be contested. Protests are the domain of civil societies and others in that terrain,” Idahosa said.

He further stated, “Our client is a law-abiding citizen. Why wouldn’t she be there? It’s a summons we have undertaken. Only disrespectful institutions that disregard court orders would fail to appear, and she is not in that category.

”When asked about the possibility of arraignment, Idahosa noted, “We don’t know.

We saw a notice of amended charges. We don’t know what they are trying to do.

They’ve amended the charges once and could do so again—it’s their decision.”

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has announced the discoveries of more dead bodies under a bridge bringing the death toll to 153 in the Mokwa Flood.

The director- general of NSEMA, Abdullahi Baba Arah, disclosed this yesterday while giving the daily update on the Disaster.

He said, “Two more dead bodies were recovered late yesterday (Saturday) under the bridge.

They were buried this morning (yesterday).”The director general said that with the latest development, the death toll has now been put at 153, and the affected population is now 3,018.

He said at Ndayako village, no death was recorded, but that 98 people were displaced and 58 houses were also washed away.

The Commander of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), US Marine Corps, Gen. Michael Langley, has said that the absence of his country’s intelligence and counterterrorism support, which had previously helped monitor and disrupt extremist networks across the Sahel, might have created security gaps that terrorist groups were now exploiting.

Langley disclosed this, weekend, during a digital press briefing after the “African Chiefs of Defence Conference” in Kenya.

Langley stated, “I’ll just say that since we left Niger in September of last year, we’re observing a rise in attacks by violent extremist organisations, not only in Niger but across the Sahel to include Nigeria as well as going into Burkina Faso and Mali.

“Now, this increase is measurable by both frequency and complexity of these attacks driven by persistent and socio-economic grievances and the proliferation of weapons and increased capable terrorist groups across the board.

“So, unfortunately, with our withdrawal from the region, we have lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely but we continue to liaison with partners to provide what support we can.”

In Borno State, North-east Nigeria, Boko Haram and its faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have intensified their assaults.

In central Nigeria’s Benue and Plateau states, violence attributed to armed herders has also surged.

These attacks, coming after a considerable period of lull in terrorist activities, have targeted both civilians and security forces, leading to huge casualties and displacement.