Court postpones Natasha’s defamation objection against Akpabio, Yahaya Bello

Court postpones Natasha’s defamation objection against Akpabio, Yahaya Bello

The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama has adjourned the hearing of a preliminary objection filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in her ongoing defamation trial to December 1.

Justice Chizoba Oji postponed the matter on Monday after the prosecution counsel, David Kaswe, informed the court that although the case was listed for hearing, the prosecution had yet to properly serve its response on the defence team.

Kaswe explained that the counter-affidavit had been filed but was mistakenly delivered to an address not belonging to any of the defence lawyers. He requested a short adjournment to enable proper service.

“It would not be fair for the prosecution to insist that the matter proceed when the defence team has indicated its intention to respond to our counter,” Kaswe said.

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Defence counsel, Ehighioge West-Idahosa, confirmed that the response had not been received and stated that the defence intends to file additional evidence once properly served. He also requested a longer adjournment, citing the team’s scheduled attendance at the International Bar Association Conference in Canada.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was first arraigned on June 19 on a three-count charge bordering on harmful imputation, filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. The charges stem from allegations that she made damaging claims against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, including accusations of conspiracy to harm her and linking Akpabio to the death of Miss Iniobong Umoren.

She pleaded not guilty to all charges.

At the previous sitting on September 23, the defence filed a preliminary objection challenging the validity of the case, arguing that the Attorney-General’s Office had abused its prosecutorial powers. West-Idahosa described the objection as a “threshold jurisdictional matter” and clarified that it did not address the substance of the allegations.

The court will now reconvene on December 1 to hear the objection.

Court postpones Natasha’s defamation objection against Akpabio, Yahaya Bello