Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator from Kogi Central in the National Assembly, has turned down the ₦1 billion damages award against her in a defamation case brought by former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello. She says she has the right to defend herself against terrorism charges.
During an interview with ARISE Television, it was brought up that Bello had sued Natasha for defamation of character.
The Certified True Copy of the judgment that NAN got on April 23 in Lokoja said that the court found in favor of the claimant based on the balance of probabilities or preponderance of evidence.
On Friday, Justice A. S. Ibrahim gave his decision in the case marked “HCL/16/2023.” He said that the two issues that needed to be decided were resolved in favor of the claimant.
Natasha’s Media Office in Abuja released a statement on Saturday saying, “I reject this judgment in its entirety.” We gave the court a lot of strong and believable evidence that, in our opinion, clearly supported our case. Sadly, these were not given the attention they deserved.
Natasha said that her comments on “The Morning Show” on Arise Television were in response to Bello’s accusations. She made it clear that “If there is anybody to be accused of terrorism, it should be Yahaya Bello and not me.”
“My comments were based on what our people have been through and the need to tell the truth to those in power.”
Natasha said that the court didn’t properly look at her evidence and that her statements were made in the public interest, not out of malice.
She said, “We gave a lot of strong and believable evidence that wasn’t given enough attention.
“My statements were based on what I knew at the time and were made in good faith, so that the people of Kogi State could hold me accountable.
“I strongly believe that the court’s findings did not accurately reflect the truth. We are going to the Court of Appeal. This is not the end of the story. “We will do everything we can within the law to make sure that justice is done.”
