Justice Muhammad Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, has granted Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan bail in a six-count charge filed by the federal government over an alleged defamation case.
The court delivered its decision on Monday, following the judge’s review of the affidavit and exhibits presented by the defence lead counsel, Roland Otaro, in support of the defendant’s bail application.
During the court proceedings, the court read out the six-count charges against Ms Akpoti-Uduaghan, to which she responded that she was not guilty of all the charges.
The defence counsel then informed the court that a bail application, filed on June 20, had been submitted and pleaded with the court to consider it, adding that the defendant was not a flight risk.
The prosecution counsel, M.B. Abubakar, did not oppose the defence motion for bail, informing the court that they had left the issue of bail to the court’s discretion.
Concerning the bail application, the judge said the offence was bailable and ruled that after reviewing the defendant’s motion and considering the oral submissions by the lead counsel, they have taken into account that the defendant is a serving senator.
The judge granted the defendant’s bail application on personal recognizance and adjourned the case until September 22 for a hearing.
