Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti files contempt charge against Akpabio

Suspended Kogi Central lawmaker, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a contempt charge against Senate President Godswill Akpabio for allegedly defying a court order regarding her suspension.

Alongside Akpabio, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, Senator Neda Imasuem, were also cited as contemnors in the Form 48 filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Akpoti-Uduaghan argues that her six-month suspension was a direct violation of a subsisting court order issued on March 4, 2025. The court had previously restrained the Senate from investigating her alleged misconduct following an incident at the February 20 plenary session.

A notice of disobedience, signed by the court’s registrar pursuant to Section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act 2004, warned Akpabio, Imasuem, and the Clerk that their actions could result in imprisonment for contempt of court.

According to the court, despite being duly served with an interim injunction on March 5, the defendants “deliberately and contumaciously disregarded” the court’s directive and went ahead with their actions in “flagrant defiance of the authority of the court.”

Justice Obiora Egwuatu had earlier ruled that any action taken against Akpoti-Uduaghan while the case was pending would be “null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.” The court also permitted her to serve the legal processes on the defendants through alternative means, such as pasting them at the National Assembly or publishing them in national newspapers.

In response to the suit, Akpabio has challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the judiciary has no authority to interfere in Senate affairs.

The case has been adjourned until March 25 for further proceedings.