By TAIYE AGBAJE

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Friday, reserved judgement in the appeal and cross appeal filed by Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Akpoti-Uduaghan is challenging a lower court’s decision in her suit seeking to stop the Senate’s investigation of her alleged misconduct.

A three-member panel of justices of the appellate court reserved the judgment after counsel for the parties adopted their processes and argued their case for and against the appeals.

The senate president had approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the Federal High Court judgment that invalidated the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Akpabio’s legal team had challenged the jurisdiction of the lower court, arguing that the matter bordered on the internal affairs of the National Assembly and is therefore insulated from judicial review under Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution.

The lower court had declared her six-month suspension unconstitutional, excessive, and a violation of the senator’s constituents’ right to representation.

In a notice of cross-appeal dated 11 July, Mr. Akpabio, through his lead counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, asked the appellate court to nullify the judgment, describing it as erroneous and a gross miscarriage of justice.

In the 11-ground appeal, he faulted the trial court for dismissing his preliminary objection and for issuing orders that, according to him, interfere with parliamentary procedures protected by law.

He further argued that matters relating to suspension of members, utterances made during plenary, and resolutions of the Senate fall squarely within the protective scope of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, and cannot be subjected to external adjudication.

The cross-appeal by the senate president came just two days after Akpoti-Uduaghan filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal to challenge the N5 million fine imposed on her by the same court.

The fine was part of a contempt ruling issued by the trial court’s judge, Justice Binta Nyako, who found the senator guilty of civil contempt over a satirical Facebook post made while her case against the Senate was still ongoing.

In her six-ground appeal, Akpoti-Uduaghan described the contempt ruling as violating her fundamental rights and argued that the fine was legally unfounded.

The appeals, marked: CA/ABJ/CJ/739/2025, CA/ABJ/CJ/1208/2025; and CA/ABJ/CJ/739/2025CA/A//2025, all stemmed from the rights suit filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan with number: FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, to stop the senate from investigating her.

At the hearing on Friday, Akpabio, through his lawyer, Eko Ejembi Eko, SAN, withdrew one of the cross appeals, having been overtaken by event, since Akpoti-Uduaghan had since resumed her duties in the Senate, and it was dismissed. (NAN)

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