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 suit 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 court ruled in favor of the claimant in the Certified True Copy of the judgment that NAN got on April 23 in Lokoja. The court said that the evidence was more likely to support the claimant’s case than not.
Justice A. S. Ibrahim ruled on Friday in the case “HCL/16/2023” that the two issues that needed to be decided were resolved in favor of the claimant.
In a statement from her Media Office in Abuja on Saturday, Natasha said, “I completely disagree with this judgment.” We gave the court a lot of strong and believable evidence that, in our opinion, clearly supported our case. Sadly, these were not given enough thought.
Natasha said that her comments on “The Morning Show” on Arise Television were in response to Bello’s accusations. She stressed 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 says 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 thought.”
“My comments were based on what I knew at the time and were made in good faith, with the goal of being accountable to the people of Kogi State.”
“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 use all legal means to make sure that justice is done.”
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