Justice Chizoba Oji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has scheduled December 1 for the hearing of the preliminary objection filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in her ongoing defamation case involving Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was arraigned on June 19 before the court on a three-count charge of harmful imputation, filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.
In the case, numbered FCT/HC/CR/297/25, she is accused of making statements allegedly intended to damage the reputation of Senator Akpabio by claiming he conspired with former Governor Bello to have her killed.
She is further accused of making a similar harmful imputation knowing that it will harm the reputation of ex-governor Bello.
The prosecution also accused the embattled senator of making another imputation, which she knew would harm the reputation of Akpabio by associating him with the death of one Miss Imoren Iniobong.
She, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge against her.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Monday, the prosecuting counsel, David Kaswe, informed the court that though the matter was slated for hearing of the defendant’s preliminary objection, the prosecution was not able to serve its response to the objection though it had filed the same with the court.
Kaswe told the court that the address the prosecution’s counter was served did not belong to any of the counsels for the senator and as such asked for a short adjournment to enable the prosecution to properly serve the defendant with its response to her preliminary objection.
According to the prosecutor, “It will not be fair for the prosecution to insist that the matter goes on as the defence team has indicated that they will respond to our counter.
“In the circumstance, we are asking for a short adjournment to enable us (prosecution) to effect proper service on the defence.”
Responding to this, the lead counsel for Natasha, Ehighioge West-Idahosa SAN, confirmed to the court that the prosecution’s response to his client’s preliminary objection was not served on any of her defence team, adding that they had nit seen the response.
“The prosecution’s counter was not served on any of the defendant’s lawyers. As defendant, we have not been served. We intend to re d when we are properly served as we have additional evidence to file,” the senior advocate told the court.
He, however, appealed to the court to grant a long adjournment as members of the defence team plan to attend this year’s Internation Bar Association’s meeting in Canada.
After listening to parties, Justice Oji adjourned hearing of the preliminary objection to December 1.
At the last sitting on September in the case on September 23, West-Idahosa had told the court that the defendant had filed a notice of preliminary objection before the court on the ground that there was abuse of prosecutorial powers by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
According to the senior advocate, the preliminary objection was not a challenge of the elements of the charge but a challenge to the validity of the charge, asserting that, “This is the threshold of jurisdictional matter.”
He then informed the court that the defence had on September 18 served the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation with the preliminary objection and the prosecution had yet to respond to it.
