N100k Sanction:Appeal Court Strikes Out Akpabio’s Bid to Challenge Court Order in Natasha Case

In a significant legal victory for Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out two motions filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, which sought to challenge a Federal High Court ruling restraining the Senate from disciplining the Kogi lawmaker.

Akpabio’s motions, dated March 20 and 25, 2025, had aimed to secure leave to appeal the March 10 decision of Justice Obiora Egwuatu, which barred the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with disciplinary action against Akpoti-Uduaghan. The disciplinary move followed a heated exchange between both senators on the Senate floor on February 20.

But in a ruling delivered on May 21, 2025, a three-member panel of the Appeal Court, led by Justice Hamma A. Barka, granted Akpabio’s own request to withdraw the motions—striking them out and ordering him to pay ₦100,000 in costs to Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The motions had sought several orders, including leave to appeal outside the statutory timeframe, a stay of proceedings at the High Court, and permission to contest the jurisdiction of the lower court. However, after withdrawing them, the court ordered that the related Appeal No: CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/395M/2025 be expunged from its docket.

Justice Barka delivered the lead judgment, with Justices Adebukunola A. Banjoko and Okon E. Abang concurring. The enrolled order, signed by Deputy Chief Registrar Josephine J. Ekperobe, confirmed the court’s decision.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier secured a restraining order from the Federal High Court, asking that the Senate Committee suspend all proceedings against her, arguing that any action taken during the pendency of the suit would be “null and void.”

This ruling marks a turning point in the standoff between the Senate leadership and one of its most vocal members—and casts further scrutiny on the use of disciplinary processes for internal Senate politics.