COURT STRIKES OUT AKPABIO’S APPEALS IN SENATE ETHICS CASE

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out two motions filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, dealing a procedural blow to his legal efforts in an ongoing case involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate’s Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
In the ruling, a three-member panel led by Justice Hamman Barka granted Akpabio’s application to withdraw the motions and awarded costs of ₦100,000 to the first respondent, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The motions — dated March 3 and March 25, 2025 — were part of Akpabio’s attempt to appeal the March 10 decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The case, involves legal questions around Senate procedures and Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition regarding her treatment by the National Assembly.
Akpabio had sought several reliefs from the appellate court: to extend the time for filing his appeal, to obtain leave to appeal on grounds of mixed law and fact, and to stay proceedings at the lower court pending appeal. All these motions have now been struck out following their withdrawal.
The court also directed that the corresponding appeal be deleted from its records, effectively closing that legal avenue for Akpabio unless a fresh application is filed.
The legal tussle is part of a larger political backdrop involving Senate leadership, ethics investigations, and internal disputes within the upper chamber. Though the ruling does not conclude the case on merit, it underscores the evolving tension between institutional accountability and political authority within the legislature