The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the N5 million fine and apology order earlier imposed on Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan by the Federal High Court, ruling that the contempt proceedings against her were procedurally defective and legally void.
The appellate Court also upheld the powers of the Senate to discipline its members, ruling that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension did not breach her parliamentary privileges or constitutional rights.
While delivering Judgment on Monday, in a unanimous decision, the court vacates N5m Fine Against Senator Natasha, Upholds Senate’s Disciplinary Powers by a three-member panel of Justices
The appellate court held that the mandatory processes for instituting contempt actions were not followed, particularly the failure to properly serve Forms 48 and 49 on the Kogi Central lawmaker as required by law.
The court ruled that the defective service rendered the entire contempt proceedings incompetent ab initio, thereby resolving the issues in favour of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Consequently, the N5 million fine and the order directing her to issue a public apology were vacated and set aside.
The court while deciding another appeal noted that the Senate acted within its constitutional and procedural authority in suspending the lawmaker for misconduct.
The court held that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was right to deny Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan the opportunity to speak during plenary on February 20, 2025, because she was not seated in the seat officially allocated to her.
The court stressed that under the Senate Rules, the Senate President is empowered to allocate seats to lawmakers and that members are only permitted to speak from seats assigned to them.
(Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie)
