Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
ABUJA/Nigeria: Action Collective has urged Sandra Duru and others involved in the controversy surrounding the purported audio involving Senate President Godswill Akpabio to stop dragging Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan into their dispute, saying the senator had already publicly dissociated herself from earlier audio recordings attributed to her.
The group, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Mr Teddy Onyejuwe, said Akpoti-Uduaghan’s disclaimer was widely published by Nigerian media organisations and should not be disregarded in the renewed controversy. The group recalled that in June 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan publicly denied being responsible for a viral audio purportedly containing statements attributed to her concerning Akpabio and President Bola Tinubu. Her denial was reported by Arise News, TheCable and Daily Post.
Arise News:
https://www.arise.tv/senator-akpoti-uduaghan-denies-viral-audio-says-voice-was-cloned-to-malign-her/
TheCable:
https://www.thecable.ng/natasha-akpoti-says-desperate-elements-cloning-her-voice-to-spread-disinformation/
Daily Post:
https://dailypost.ng/2025/06/04/natasha-distances-self-from-viral-audio-alleges-voice-cloning/
In the reports, Akpoti-Uduaghan denied granting the alleged interview and maintained that the voice in the recording had been cloned or manipulated. She also disputed the authenticity of the material being circulated and said it was being used to misrepresent her position.
Action Collective also drew attention to a June 4, 2025 petition by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers, M.J. Numa & Partners LLP, to the National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force. The lawyers alleged that the senator’s official phone number had been cloned and used by unknown persons to make calls and send audio messages purporting to originate from her, and requested an investigation into the matter. The petition also advised caution in accepting communications allegedly originating from the senator’s number unless they were directly verified.
The group said the wider controversy involving Sandra Duru and Akpoti-Uduaghan had also been reported by Sahara Reporters. In a June 13, 2025 publication, the newspaper reported that Duru had been listed as one of six witnesses expected to testify against Akpoti-Uduaghan in a case involving the senator. The report provided background on Duru’s involvement in the wider dispute.
Sahara Reporters:
https://saharareporters.com/2025/06/13/nigerian-government-lists-woman-declared-wanted-police-2016-witness-testify-against
Onyejuwe said the current dispute should therefore be handled by the individuals directly involved without making Akpoti-Uduaghan a party to it. He said Action Collective was particularly concerned about attempts to repeatedly associate the senator with allegations from which she had already publicly distanced herself.
According to him, Sandra Duru and those involved in the current dispute should address their respective claims and provide whatever evidence they may have, rather than continuing to draw Akpoti-Uduaghan into a matter from which she had already dissociated herself.
“Sandra Duru and her co-travellers should not drag Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan into their quarrels. She has made her disclaimer, and that disclaimer was widely published in several newspapers, both online and in hard copies. She should therefore be allowed to remain outside their dispute,” Onyejuwe said.
He added that the authenticity and full context of any disputed audio should be independently established before conclusions are drawn, stressing that claims contained in recordings should not automatically be treated as established facts without proper verification.
