Setback for Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case, as Akpabio asks Appeal Court to halt High Court’s hearing

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has urged the Court of Appeal in Abuja to halt the hearing of Kogi Central senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suit that she filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge her suspension by the Senate.

Mr Akpabio, on 20 March, submitted the request along with an application seeking the Court of Appeal’s permission to challenge an interlocutory decision of the Federal High Court delivered on 10 March.

He wants the proceedings at the Federal High Court halted while the Court of Appeal sits on his appeal challenging the 10 March decision of the lower court to hear all pending applications in the suit instituted by Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The senate president filed a similar application of stay of proceedings before the Federal High Court on the same 20 March, seeking a suspension of the hearing of the suspended senator’s suit pending appeal.

According to Mr Akpabio’s legal team led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who filed the application on behalf of the senate president, the decision of the lower court on 10 March to hear all pending applications together “is contrary to established legal principles.”

One of the pending applications the Federal High Court decided to hear together with others was one filed by the Senate to challenge the court’s 4 March order of interim injunction suspending the Senate’s disciplinary process against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.

They also include Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s applications for mandatory injunction and committal proceedings against Senate officials who played a role in her suspension in disobedience to the 4 March court order.

“There is a need for this honourable court to stay proceedings of the lower court pending the hearing and determination of the appellant/applicant’s appeal, to prevent the judgement of this honourable court nugatory,” Mr Akpabio’s lawyer wrote in the application filed at the Court of Appeal on 20 March.

Setback for Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal challenge to her suspension

Earlier on 19 March – a day before Mr Akpabio filed his application at the Court of Appeal – the Federal High Court granted the Senate’s request to reverse one of its 4 March orders, halting the Senate’s disciplinary processes against the suspended senator. The court reversed the order after agreeing with the Senate’s legal team that the particular order was vague.

After overturning the order, the court again fixed Tuesday for hearing of all pending applications in the suit.

Meanwhile, within 24 hours of the filing of Mr Akpabio’s application seeking an order for the stay of the Federal High Court’s proceedings, the Court of Appeal swiftly fixed its hearing for the same Tuesday earlier picked by the Federal High Court to hear all applications pending before it.

It implies that the Federal High Court, once becoming aware of the Court of Appeal’s scheduled hearing, may have to postpone its own proceedings in deference to the authority of the higher court.

The development is a result of the legal technicality deployed by Mr Akpabio’s lawyers, potentially throwing a spanner in the works for Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suit. It comes as a setback for her hope that the suit would be promptly decided in her favour to reverse the Senate’s disciplinary action against her and cut short the six months suspension imposed on her.

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan kickstarted the widening legal actions through the suit she filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja in the wake of her altercation with Mr Akpabio during the Senate’s 20 February proceedings over the seat allocated to her.

Embattled senator’s legal journey

She commenced the suit via an ex-parte motion seeking to stop the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, chaired by Neda Imasuen, from sanctioning her over allegations of misconduct against her.

She sued the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, its President – Mr Akpabio, and the committee chairman as the first to fourth defendants.

On 4 March, the judge granted an interim injunction halting any disciplinary action against her and declared any decision taken against her while the case was pending as null and void.

On 6 March, despite the restraining order, the Senate went ahead to suspend her for six months, citing misconduct involving altercation between her and the senate president over her seat allocation during the 20 February plenary.

In response, on 7 March, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan filed for a mandatory injunction and instituted contempt proceedings against the relevant officials of the Senate, alleging that her suspension was a blatant disobedience to the court’s 4 March order.

On 10 March, when the matter came up for hearing, the court ruled that all pending applications would be heard together—a decision Mr Akpabio’s legal team argues contradicts established legal principles.

On 17 March, the Senate through its lawyer, Chikaosolu Ojukwu, a SAN, filed an application to challenge the court’s 4 March order, which he described as vague. He added that enforcing the order would interfere with the Senate’s constitutional duties, violating the doctrine of separation of powers.

Subsequently the hearing date, initially set for 25 March (Tuesday), was brought forward to 19 March based on a letter by Mr Ojukwu.

At the 10 March hearing, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Michael Numa, also a SAN, urged the court to dismiss the Senate’s application, insisting that the defendants had deliberately disobeyed a valid court order.

Ruling on the matter, the judge, Obiora Egwuatu, vacated the contentious order No. 4 in the 4 March ruling, which agreed was vague and might overreach the Senate’s powers.

The case was then again adjourned till 25 March for the hearing of all pending applications.

Akpabio’s appeal court sojourn

The senate president, in a motion filed on 20 March, is requesting an extension of time to seek leave to appeal against the 10 March ruling delivered by a judge, Obiora Egwuatu in the suit FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025.

His legal team stated that their client’s proposed appeal raises issues of both law and fact, necessitating prior approval from the Court of Appeal.

In all, the lawyers contended that the Federal High Court erred in deciding to hear all pending applications together instead of addressing them sequentially.

They argued that the balance of convenience favours him, as granting the appeal would best serve the interests of justice.

In an affidavit filed on 20 March, Toyo Jimmy, a senior legislative aide to Mr Akpabio, stated that the senate president is contesting the 10 March decision of the lower court, which ordered all pending applications to be heard together on 25 March.

The document stated that this decision prevented him from filing a timely appeal within the 14-day legal window.

The senate president’s legal team stated that continuing with the case at the Federal High Court while an appeal is pending could render any future judgement by the appellate court ineffective.

Mr Akpabio contended, through his lawyers, that the High Court’s ruling was an improper exercise of judicial discretion and could prejudice his right to a fair hearing.

READ ALSO:Court lifts injunction on Senate’s disciplinary process against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

Therefore, he requested a stay of proceedings at the Federal High Court pending the outcome of his appeal, arguing that continuing the trial could undermine the effectiveness of any ruling from the appellate court.

“The balance of convenience favours the appellant, who would suffer irreparable harm if this application is denied,” the supporting affidavit read.

Mr Akpabio pledged to diligently prosecute the appeal and has undertaken to indemnify the respondents should the appeal be deemed frivolous.

The Court of Appeal has scheduled the application hearing for Tuesday, coinciding with the date previously set by the Federal High Court for its hearing on all pending applications regarding the foundational case.