Akpabio faces sanction as court dismisses motions in Natasha’s case

In a setback for the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out two motions he filed in a suit involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, imposing a ₦100,000 fine against him. A three-member panel led by Justice Hamman Barka delivered the ruling on May 21, 2025, granting Akpabio’s request to withdraw his motions. The certified true copy of the ruling was made available to the press on Tuesday night, June 10. Akpabio had filed the motions on March 3 and March 25, 2025 (with suit numbers CV/395/M1/2025 and CV/395/M2/2025) seeking permission to appeal a Federal High Court judgment delivered on March 10, 2025, as well as a stay of proceedings. The lower court’s decision related to the same dispute between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan. The respondents in the case included Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen. However, during the hearing, Akpabio sought to withdraw both motions, prompting the court to grant his request and strike them out. “Application seeking to withdraw the two motions dated and filed on 20/3/2025 and 25/3/2025 is granted, and the motions are struck out. Costs of ₦100,000 are awarded to the 1st Respondent,” the court ruled. Additionally, the appeal itself, marked CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/395M/2025, was ordered to be deleted from the court’s record. This development leaves Akpabio’s challenge to the lower court’s ruling effectively abandoned.