In the wake of a six-month suspension imposed by the Senate, the lawmaker for Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a contempt charge against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Also named as contemnors in the Form 48 submitted to the Federal High Court in Abuja are the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Code of Conduct, Senator Neda Imasuem.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan contends that her suspension amounts to a deliberate violation of a standing court order issued against the defendants on 4 March.
In response to her application, the court, through a notice of non-compliance signed by its Registrar in accordance with Section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act 2004, alerted the defendants/contemnors to their wilful disobedience of the order issued by Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
It warned that failure to adhere to the existing order could render Akpabio, Senator Imasuem, and the Clerk of the National Assembly liable for contempt of court, potentially resulting in imprisonment.
According to the Form 48, a copy of which was reviewed by Vanguard on Thursday, the defendants/contemnors “deliberately and contemptuously ignored” a binding court directive and “continued actions in blatant defiance of the court’s authority.”
It was claimed that an enrolled order of the interim injunction issued by the court was duly served on the defendants on 5 March.
Justice Egwuatu had, upon an ex-parte application submitted by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and her legal team led by Mr. Michael Numa, SAN, restrained the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Code of Conduct from “proceeding with the purported investigation against the Plaintiff/Applicant for alleged misconduct following the events at the plenary of the 2nd Defendant on 20 February 2025, subsequent to the referral by the 2nd Defendant on 25 February 2025, pending the resolution of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction.”
The court further mandated “the 1st-4th Defendants to appear and show cause why an order for interlocutory injunction should not be granted against them, restraining them from proceeding with the purported investigation against the Plaintiff for alleged misconduct while preserving her privileges as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended), the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.”
Additionally, the court issued an order declaring any actions taken during the pendency of the suit as “null, void, and without effect whatsoever.”
Moreover, Justice Egwuatu granted Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan permission to serve the processes on the defendants through alternative means, either by delivering them to the Clerk of the National Assembly, by affixing them to the premises of the National Assembly, or by publishing them in two national newspapers.
In response to the suit, Senate President Akpabio has challenged the court’s jurisdiction to intervene in Senate matters.
The court has adjourned further proceedings in the case until 25 March.
