Senate President Akpabio seeks upturn of Court ruling on Natasha’s Suspension
Senate President Akpabio seeks upturn of Court ruling on Natasha’s Suspension
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has approached the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn a July 4, 2025, ruling by Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Nyako had ordered the Senate to recall the suspended Kogi State Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The court found the senator guilty of contempt and imposed a fine of N5 million, while also directing her to tender an apology.
The Court of Appeal heard and reserved judgment on the appeal and cross-appeal filed by both Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Akpabio, stemming from the lower court’s decision on Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suit seeking to halt the Senate’s investigation into her alleged misconduct.
A three-member panel of appellate justices reserved judgment after counsel for the parties adopted their processes and presented arguments supporting and opposing the appeals.
The Senate President challenged Justice Nyako’s judgment, with his legal team arguing that the lower court lacked jurisdiction, noting that the matter concerned “the internal affairs of the National Assembly and is therefore insulated from judicial review under Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution.”
The trial court had ruled that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension was unconstitutional, excessive, and violated her constituents’ right to representation.
In a cross-appeal dated July 11, Mr. Akpabio, through lead counsel Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, asked the appellate court to nullify the judgment, describing it as “erroneous and a gross miscarriage of justice.”
In an 11-ground appeal, he faulted the trial court for dismissing his preliminary objection and issuing orders that, according to him, “interfere with parliamentary procedures protected by law.”
He further argued that “matters relating to suspension of members, utterances made during plenary, and resolutions of the Senate fall squarely within the protective scope of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, and cannot be subjected to external adjudication.”
The cross-appeal by the Senate President came just two days after Akpoti-Uduaghan filed her own appeal at the Court of Appeal, challenging the N5 million fine imposed on her by the Federal High Court. The fine followed a civil contempt ruling by Justice Nyako over a satirical Facebook post she made while her case against the Senate was ongoing.
In her six-ground appeal, Akpoti-Uduaghan described the contempt ruling as “violating her fundamental rights” and argued that the fine was “legally unfounded.”
The appeals, marked CA/ABJ/CJ/739/2025, CA/ABJ/CJ/1208/2025, and CA/ABJ/CJ/739/2025CA/A//2025, all originate from the rights suit she filed with number FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, which sought to stop the Senate from investigating her.
At Friday’s hearing, Akpabio, through his lawyer Eko Ejembi Eko, SAN, withdrew one of the cross-appeals, noting that it had been overtaken by events as Akpoti-Uduaghan had since resumed her Senate duties, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.
