Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has raised fresh allegations concerning the reported detention and alleged mistreatment of a man identified as Hussein Ataaba, during a live broadcast on her official Facebook page on Friday, April 24, 2026.
The senator made the comments while also referencing alleged involvement of the Kogi State Commissioner for Solid Minerals and Natural Resources, Engr. Abubakar Bashir Gegu, in the reported incident.
According to Akpoti-Uduaghan, she was alerted to the situation through social media posts and public tagging on a platform referred to as “Common Sense.” She stated that the information she received suggested that the individual in question had been missing for about two weeks before allegedly being located in the custody of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Abuja.
She said: “I found some stories on one Common Sense page. I was tagged. A lot of people tagged me about two hours ago that there was a story about one man named Hussein Ataaba, who has been a strong critic against the government.”
She further claimed that the reports she saw alleged mistreatment of the individual in custody: “The man has been missing for the past two weeks, and we got information that actually he is being detained at the force CID in Abuja, that allegedly Bashir Gegu was there yesterday supervising policemen beating him into pulp.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan also described allegations circulating online regarding the condition of the detainee, stating: “That the man is covered with injuries and that he is not given food, water, that he had to drink from bathroom water. I mean, the water from the bathroom. That is what I watched on Common Sense.”
She added that the individual was reportedly misled into travelling to Abuja under false pretences: “They said he was flown to Abuja with my name, that Senator Natasha wants to see him. He came to Abuja from Okene thinking that he was meeting with me. When he got here, he was abducted by the force CID, police from the force CID, and that for the past two weeks, every day, they beat him up, almost like torturing him to death.”
The senator clarified that she had not personally viewed video evidence of the alleged abuse but expressed concern over the reports: “I haven’t watched any of his videos, but if his videos are hurtful and offensive to the state government, I think if they want to arrest him, he should be charged to court and not beaten up.”
She also announced her intention to personally verify the situation: “If you are hearing me tomorrow, I will visit you people tomorrow. I will go to the force CID tomorrow to see and find out if the man is there. I think it is really wrong and abuse of power to torture someone to the point that he is being subjected to death”
Akpoti-Uduaghan further described the alleged involvement of the state commissioner, saying: “Bashir Gegu is commissioner in Kogi State. I was told by the person who went there that Bashir Gegu was there and even kicked the man several times in the presence of police officers and they jointly beat him up.”…Read_More…