A High Court sitting in Lokoja has ordered Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to pay N1 billion in damages to former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, in a defamation suit.
The judgment, delivered by Justice A. S. Ibrahim and dated April 23, followed a legal battle in which the court ruled that the claimant had proven his case based on the balance of probabilities.
The court held that statements made by Akpoti-Uduaghan during a November 4, 2022 appearance on The Morning Show on Arise TV were defamatory and damaging to Bello’s reputation.
Justice Ibrahim ruled that the defendant’s claims describing Bello as a “murderer, killer, perpetrator of evil acts, and a terror to the people of Kogi State” were unjustified and lacked evidential backing.
Consequently, the court awarded N1 billion in damages in favour of Bello and issued a perpetual injunction restraining Akpoti-Uduaghan, her agents, or associates from making further defamatory statements against the former governor across television, radio, or other media platforms.
During proceedings, counsel to the defendant, Johnson J. Usman (SAN), had challenged the jurisdiction of the court, arguing that the suit constituted an abuse of court process.
However, Bello’s counsel, Friday Ekpa, opposed the argument, insisting that the case was properly filed.
The court dismissed the objection and affirmed its authority to hear the matter.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the High Court’s jurisdiction. However, in appeal number CA/ABJ/CV/626/2024, the appellate court dismissed her appeal for lacking merit and upheld the jurisdiction of the Kogi State High Court.
VANGUARD