A high court in Lokoja has ordered Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, to pay N1 billion in damages to Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi, over defamatory comments.
In a judgement delivered on Thursday, April 23, A.S. Ibrahim, the presiding judge, held that the claimant proved his case on the balance of probabilities.
The suit, marked HCL/16/2023, centred on comments made by Akpoti-Uduaghan during an appearance on The Morning Show, a programme on Arise TV, on November 4, 2022.
The judge ruled that the statements, in which Bello was described as a ‘murderer, killer, perpetrator of evil acts, and a terror to the people of Kogi state”, were defamatory and not justified.
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“The interview granted by the defendant on 4/11/2022 on Arise TV programme ‘The Morning Show’ is defamatory to the claimant’s character and reputation,” the judge held.
“The said interview of 4/11/2022, in which the defendant described the claimant as a murderer, killer, perpetrator of evil acts, and a terror to the people of Kogi state, was without justification.”
The judge also issued a perpetual injunction restraining Akpoti-Uduaghan, her agents or associates from making further defamatory statements against Bello on television or radio.
“The sum of one billion naira is awarded as damages against the defendant and in favour of the claimant,” the judge ruled.
Bello had filed the suit, alleging that the statements damaged his reputation.
During proceedings, Johnson Usman, counsel to the defendant, challenged the jurisdiction of the court, arguing that the suit constituted an abuse of court process.
Friday Ekpa, counsel to Bello, opposed the objection, maintaining that related cases before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court did not involve Bello in his personal capacity.
Earlier during the trial, the Kogi high court ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear the case.
The decision was later affirmed by the court of appeal, which dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s appeal for lacking merit.
