In a defamation case brought by the former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the Kogi State High Court has ordered the lawmaker who represents Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, to pay N1 billion in damages.
According to Daily Independent, the court ruled in the case “HCL/16/2023” that the two concerns that were brought up for decision were resolved in favor of the claimant at the end of the case.
The court ruled in favor of the claimant in the Certified True Copy of the decision that was made public yesterday. This was based on a preponderance of evidence or balance of probabilities.
The court ordered in an Enrollment Order on April 22, 2026, that:
“The interview the defendant gave on the Arise TV show “The Morning Show” on April 11, 2022, hurts the claimant’s character and reputation.
The interview on 4/11/2022, in which the Defendant called the Claimant a murderer, killer, evil doer, and horror to the people of Kogi State, was not justified.
The court further told the defendant, his agents, privies, or friends to stop making defamatory comments or words against the claimant on TV or radio stations.
The court declared, “The sum of one billion naira (N1,000,000,000) only (is) awarded as damages against the Defendant and in favour of the Claimant.”
The Kogi State High Court heard a case in 2023 in which former Governor Yahaya Bello sued Senator Natasha Akpoti for defamation of character.
At the time, the Defendant’s lawyer, Johnson J. Usman, SAN, said that the Court did not have the right to hear the case and that it was an abuse of the Court process.
Bello’s lawyer, Friday Ekpa Esq., on the other hand, said that none of the cases in front of the FCT High Court were against Alhaji Yahaya Bello himself.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan appealed the High Court’s decision that it had the authority to hear the case.
The Court of Appeal, in the appeal number “CA/ABJ/CV/626/2024,” threw out the appeal because it was not valid and confirmed that the Kogi State High Court had the right to hear the matter.
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