The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has struck out two interlocutory motions filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio in the case challenging the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central.
In a unanimous ruling delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Hamman Barka, the appellate court dismissed the motions after Akpabio’s legal team formally withdrew them. The court also awarded a cost of N100,000 against the Senate President.
The motions, marked CV/395/M1/2025 and CV/395/M2/2025, and dated March 3 and March 25, 2025, respectively, sought to secure leave for Akpabio to appeal the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on March 10, 2025, by Justice Obiora Egwuatu. The appeal also requested a stay of proceedings in the case filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Akpabio had prayed the appellate court to extend the time within which he could file an appeal on grounds of mixed law and fact. His motions also sought to halt proceedings at the Federal High Court pending the outcome of his appeal.
Respondents in the appeal included Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and Senator Neda Imasuen, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
The court struck out the motions on May 21, 2025, after they were deemed to have been overtaken by events. A certified true copy of the enrolled order was sighted by Vanguard on Wednesday.
This legal battle stems from the suspension of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, following a heated exchange with the Senate President during plenary on February 20, 2025. The dispute escalated after she challenged the sudden change of her seating position in the Senate chamber, raising multiple points of order that were repeatedly overruled by Akpabio.
After receiving a summons from the Senate disciplinary committee, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan approached the Federal High Court to challenge the legality of her six-month suspension. The case was initially handled by Justice Egwuatu, who later recused himself over claims of bias raised by Akpabio. The matter is now before Justice Binta Nyako, who has fixed June 27, 2025, for ruling on the validity of the suspension.
The outcome of the case is expected to set a precedent on legislative discipline and the limits of parliamentary privilege in Nigeria’s democratic process.
