Court awards Yahaya Bello N1bn in defamation suit against Natasha

By Boye Oyeyemi

A High Court sitting in Lokoja has ordered Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to pay N1bn in damages to former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, over a defamation suit.

The judgment, delivered by A. S. Ibrahim, was dated April 23, 2026, and obtained in Lokoja on Friday.

The court held that the claimant proved his case on the balance of probabilities and was entitled to reliefs sought against the defendant.

“The interview granted by the defendant on November 4, 2022, on Arise TV’s ‘The Morning Show’ is defamatory to the claimant’s character and reputation,” the judge ruled.

“The defendant’s description of the claimant as a murderer, killer and terror to the people of Kogi State was made without justification,” the court added.

Justice Ibrahim also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the senator, her associates and agents from making further defamatory statements against Bello on any media platform.

“The sum of N1,000,000,000 is hereby awarded as damages in favour of the claimant against the defendant,” the court declared.

The suit was instituted by Bello following the controversial interview, while the defendant had challenged the court’s jurisdiction, a position dismissed by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, which affirmed that the Lokoja court was competent to hear the matter.