By Njoku Chijioke
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed two motions filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and awarded ₦100,000 in costs against him in favour of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The motions, dated March 3 and March 25, 2025, with suit numbers CV/395/M1/2025 and CV/395/M2/2025, were struck out on May 21, 2025, after Akpabio applied to withdraw them.
The legal dispute arose from a confrontation between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan during a plenary session of the Senate on February 20, 2025.
Following the incident, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions initiated disciplinary action against Akpoti-Uduaghan.
However, the proceedings were halted by a ruling of the Federal High Court on March 10, 2025, delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
In response, Akpabio approached the Court of Appeal seeking an extension of time to seek leave to appeal the High Court’s ruling, leave to appeal the decision itself, an extension of time to file his notice of appeal, and a stay of further proceedings pending the hearing and determination of his appeal.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal granted Akpabio’s request to withdraw the motions, struck them out, and imposed a ₦100,000 cost in favour of the first respondent, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The court also directed that Appeal No. CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/395M/2025 be deleted from its records.
The ruling marks a legal win for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan amid ongoing tensions with the Senate leadership.
