Lokoja High Court rules Arise TV interview defamatory, issues perpetual injunction against further statements

A High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, has ordered Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to pay ₦1 billion in damages for defaming former governor Yahaya Bello during a televised interview.

Delivering judgment, Justice A. S. Ibrahim ruled in favour of Bello, holding that statements made by the senator on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on November 4, 2022, were defamatory and damaging to his reputation.

The case stemmed from comments Akpoti-Uduaghan made during the broadcast, where she allegedly described Bello using terms such as “murderer,” “killer,” and a “terror to the people of Kogi State.”

Bello, through his counsel, Friday Ekpa, maintained that the remarks were false and targeted directly at him, prompting the lawsuit.

During proceedings, the defendant’s counsel, Johnson J. Usman, SAN, challenged the jurisdiction of the Kogi High Court, arguing that the suit constituted an abuse of court process due to related pending matters in the Federal Capital Territory.

However, the court dismissed the objection, a position later upheld by the Court of Appeal in suit number CA/ABJ/CV/626/2024, which affirmed that the Lokoja High Court had the authority to hear the case.

In the certified true copy of the judgment dated April 23, Justice Ibrahim held that the evidence presented overwhelmingly supported the claimant. The court resolved all issues for determination in Bello’s favour.

“The interview… is damaging to the claimant’s character and reputation,” the judge ruled, adding that the allegations made were “unjustified.”

Beyond the monetary award, the court also issued a perpetual injunction restraining Akpoti-Uduaghan, her agents, and associates from making further defamatory statements against Bello across any media platform.

“The sum of one billion naira is hereby awarded as damages in favour of the claimant,” the court declared.