The Digest:
The Kogi State High Court in Lokoja has ordered Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to pay N1 billion in damages to former governor Yahaya Bello in a defamation suit. Justice A.S. Ibrahim ruled that an interview the senator granted on Arise TV's The Morning Show on November 4, 2022, was defamatory. In the broadcast, she described the former governor as "a murderer, killer, perpetrator of evil acts, and a terror to the people of Kogi State" without justification. The court also issued a perpetual injunction against further defamatory statements.
Key Points:
- The judgment was delivered on April 23 in suit HCL/16/2023.
- The court held that the case was proved on the balance of probabilities.
- The perpetual injunction restrains the senator from further defamatory publications.
- The former governor had sued over the 2022 television interview.
- Social media reactions have criticised the ruling as an attack on free speech.
Senator Akpoti now faces a N1 billion financial penalty over her comments against the former governor.
Sources: Instagram / Social Media Reports
