A High Court sitting in Lokoja has ordered Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, to pay ₦1 billion in damages to the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, following a successful defamation lawsuit.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, April 23, presiding Judge A.S. Ibrahim ruled that the claimant successfully proved his case on the balance of probabilities. The litigation, docketed as HCL/16/2023, originated from remarks made by Akpoti-Uduaghan during a November 4, 2022, appearance on Arise TV’s The Morning Show.

The Ruling 

Justice Ibrahim found that the Senator’s descriptions of the former governor—characterizing him as a "murderer," "killer," and a "terror to the people of Kogi State"—were defamatory and lacked legal justification.

"The interview granted by the defendant on November 4, 2022, is defamatory to the claimant’s character and reputation," the judge stated. "The descriptions were without justification."

In addition to the ₦1 billion financial penalty, the court issued a perpetual injunction restraining Senator Akpoti Uduaghan, as well as her agents and associates, from publishing or broadcasting further defamatory statements against Bello.

Jurisdictional Challenges

The legal battle saw significant procedural disputes. Counsel for the defendant, Johnson Usman, had previously challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the suit was an abuse of court process due to related matters pending before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

However, Friday Ekpa, counsel to Yahaya Bello, successfully countered that the FCT cases did not involve the former governor in his personal capacity. The Kogi High Court’s jurisdiction was ultimately upheld, a decision later affirmed by the Court of Appeal, which dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s earlier challenge for lacking merit.