A Federal High Court sitting in Kogi State has ordered Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan to pay one billion naira in damages to former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello in a defamation suit stemming from remarks she made during a 2023 television interview.
The judgment followed a case filed by Bello after the senator, in an interview on Arise TV while he was still governor, made serious allegations against him, including calling him a serial killer.
After considering arguments from both sides, the court ruled in Bello’s favour, awarding one billion naira as general damages and restraining Akpoti Uduaghan from making further statements deemed defamatory against the former governor.
According to the ruling, the court held that the evidence presented by the senator did not meet the legal threshold required to substantiate the allegations she made.
During proceedings, her legal team had argued that her comments were tied to events surrounding the 2023 general elections, but the court was not persuaded by that defense.
The ruling has since sparked political reactions, with Akpoti Uduaghan openly rejecting the judgment and alleging outside influence.
Reacting publicly after the verdict, the senator accused Bello of influencing the court’s decision and questioned the fairness of the outcome.
She also responded to a social media post by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission concerning Bello’s ongoing corruption trial, using the moment to criticise both the former governor and the pace of the anti-graft agency’s investigation.
“Dear Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, kindly hurry up. Do you know he procured a Kogi state High Court judgment of N1 billion against me yesterday. Can you imagine him thinking I would pay so he can add to the stolen monies he would refund. Yeye… shi shi he no go see,” she wrote.
Her reaction has added another layer of political tension to an already contentious rivalry between the two figures.
Sources close to the senator say her legal team has been instructed to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, setting the stage for what could become a prolonged legal and political battle.
The latest development also comes amid a long-standing political feud between Akpoti Uduaghan and Bello in Kogi State, with both figures expected to remain influential forces ahead of the 2027 contest for the Kogi Central Senate seat on rival political platforms.
What began as a defamation case has now taken on wider political significance, as the courtroom clash spills further into public and partisan debate.
