Court rejects privacy violation claim against Akpoti-Uduaghan, but criticises senator’s social media conduct

Kogi Central senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan triumphed on Tuesday in a privacy violation suit filed against her last year by Kogi State Governor’s Chief of Staff Ali Bello, but emerged with scathing remarks from the judge criticising her social media conduct.

The judge, Sylvanus Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, ruled that Mr Bello, who is a nephew to immediate past Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, failed to prove how Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s publication on X (formerly Twitter) last year breached his right to privacy.

But Mr Oriji upbraided the senator for her “reprehensible” social media post, which he adjudged to be unbefitting of her status.

The post in question, tweeted on 15 March 2024 by Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, touched on a house with full address given in a choice area of Abuja that was allegedly listed among 14 houses under forfeiture proceedings instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) possibly over corruption allegations.

“Dear @OffiicialEFCC why did you delete this post on Facebook after I commented and requested that you kindly help find my favourite storybook ‘The Defeated White Lion’ at No.1 Dala Hills Street, off Agulu Lakestreet, Maitama Abuja,” she wrote on X. “That white house was amongst the 14 properties you approached the court for forfeiture in December 2022.”

The contentious post did not identify Mr Bello by name, but obliquely mentioned ‘White Lion,’ by which his uncle – former Governor Yahaya Bello – is informally known.

The Bellos are facing several corruption charges before separate judges in Abuja over corruption allegations that stemmed from former Governor Bello’s eight-year administration in Kogi.

The legal battle

On 21 May 2024, Mr Bello, the Chief of Staff to incumbent Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, sued Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan for N1 billion, alleging that the house at the address published in the senator’s post was his.

He said contrary to the senator’s assertion, the referenced house neither belonged to former Governor Bello nor was it under any forfeiture order obtained by the EFCC.

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He also said the post was filled with innuendos that pointed to him, adding that ‘White Lion’ referred to in the post was his uncle, the former governor’s nickname.

Alongside denying the senator’s allegations, he accused her of submitting a petition against him to the police and the State Security Service (SSS) to strip him of his security apparatus.

Therefore, he alleged that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan violated his fundamental rights to privacy of his home, family life, dignity of person, personal liberty, and the right to own and acquire property under Sections 34(1), 35(1), 37, 43, and 44(1) of the Nigerian Constitution.

But Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is under a six-month suspension from the Senate over an unrelated matter, denied the allegations and urged the court to dismiss the suit.

In her counter-affidavit, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Mr Bello had mounted CCTV cameras to monitor her property for political reasons.

She also said she shared the post to notify the EFCC of the whereabouts of the former Governor Bello, who has a running battle with the agency, adding that the property referenced in her post was among some properties under an interim forfeiture order obtained by the EFCC.

During court proceedings on the matter, Mr Bello’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, argued that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan acted with malice and bad faith. But the senator’s defence counsel, O.O Ibrahim, maintained that there was nothing to show ill-will to warrant the filing of the suit.

Court’s decision

Delivering judgement on Tuesday, Mr Oriji resolved the case, setting out to answer the key questions raised in the suit.

He adopted the questions of whether the X post and petition to the police violated Mr Bello’s privacy and the privacy of his home, and whether the applicant was entitled to the prayers sought against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The judge ruled that Mr Bello failed to establish how the post violated his right to privacy. “Applicant failed to prove that the respondent’s post breached his fundamental right to privacy or privacy of his home or any right,” Mr Oriji declared.

He noted that the publication by Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan did not refer to Mr Bello but his house address which is in a public space. He said reference to the house in the senator’s post could not have amounted to an intrusion of privacy.

The judge also ruled that the applicant failed to establish that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition to the police caused the exposure of the privacy and security of his home.

The court upheld Mr Bello’s right to privacy but refused to grant his N1 billion damages claim.

Court scolds Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan

But the judge scolded the senator for her conduct on social media.

He said, “It is improper, reprehensible and unconscionable for a distinguished senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to post the picture of the applicant’s house and the house address on her X social media page without justification and on the unfounded belief that the property belonged to Yahaya Bello.”

He continued, “Such conduct must be and is hereby deprecated by the court.”

The judgement comes at a time Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan is facing an allegation of violating a gag order barring her and other parties to her Senate suspension suit from speaking to the press or sharing posts concerning the matter on social media.

The political rivalry

The controversial post leading to Mr Bello’s suit and eventually Tuesday’s judgement is just an episode in the political rivalry between Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan and former Governor Bello.

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan ran on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) against then-Governor Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship election in the state.

She lost the election to the governor, who was reelected to complete two terms in January 2023.

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan later moved to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest for the 2023 Kogi Central senatorial seat in the National Assembly.

She initially lost the National Assembly election to then Governor Bello’s favoured APC candidate but regained the seat through court intervention months into her four-year tenure.

The hostility between them has not thawed ever since, as both continue to take every opportunity to prove to be each other’s unyielding adversaries.

The recent suspension of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Senate for six months and the subsequent failed moves to outrightly recall her excited her political adversaries, including members of former Governor Bello’s camp, in her home state.

Her Senate suspension still in place last month, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan defied the Kogi State Government’s ban to hold a well-attended homecoming rally in her hometown of Ihima.

About two weeks later, former Governor Bello petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over alleged defamatory remarks Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan made against him at the rally.

Other legal battles

The Bellos and Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan are separately squared up in other legal battles against other opponents.

Ali Bello (Chief of Staff to Kogi governor) is facing prosecution by the EFCC on 18 counts of money laundering to the tune of N3 billion naira. His uncle, the former governor, is also facing N80 billion money laundering charges at the Federal High Court and another N110 billion fraud case at the FCT High Court in Abuja. EFCC instituted both cases last year.

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan has also been locked in a legal battle with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, following a heated argument over sitting arrangements in February, which led to Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension in March. She faces a contempt charge arising from an allegation by Mr Akpabio that she violated a gag order issued by the court.

She accused the senate president of sexual harassment. She also sued Mr Akpabio and his legislative aide, Mfon Patrick, for defamation.

Ekaette Akpabio, the wife of the senate president, filed two separate defamation suits against the suspended Kogi senator, demanding N350 billion in damages for reputational harm allegedly inflicted upon her husband.