Suspended Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a motion filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, seeking to compel her to delete a satirical apology she posted on Facebook.
The senator made her appeal through a counter-affidavit, arguing that the post did not breach any existing court order.
Mr Akpabio’s legal team, led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, had filed the motion on 5 May, claiming Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s post violated a court order issued by Justice Binta Nyako on 4 April, which barred both parties from making public statements regarding the ongoing case.
The judge had ruled that: “There shall be no press interviews by all parties and counsels as regard the subject matter of this suit.
“There shall be no streaming or social media post as regards this case. There shall be no television analysis of this subject matter while the case is subjudice.”
Despite the order, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan posted a sarcastic statement on her Facebook page on 27 April.
In it, she mocked the Senate president’s leadership and claimed her “crime” was maintaining dignity and self-respect.
She also suggested that success in the Senate under Mr Akpabio was “based not on competence or merit, but on conformity to personal expectations.”
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The post went viral, prompting Mr Akpabio’s lawyers to request the court to mandate its deletion from all social platforms and to compel the suspended senator to issue a written apology in at least two national dailies, along with an affidavit of compliance.
But in response, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal counsel, Jubril Okutepa, argued that the post was a form of protest and did not violate the court’s directive.
“That the instant motion is borne of malice and intended to harass, intimidate, and scandalise me for exercising my constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing and to free expression,” the senator stated in her affidavit.
The case, which stems from Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension from the Senate in March, has been adjourned to 12 May.
The row between the two politicians began with a dispute over Senate seating arrangements in February. Shortly before her suspension, the Kogi senator accused Mr Akpabio of sexual harassment—an allegation he has denied.
Since then, both parties have filed defamation suits against each other. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan is demanding ₦100 billion in general damages and ₦300 million in legal fees from Mr Akpabio and his aide, Mfon Patrick, over a post that claimed she lacked legislative focus and cared more about her looks.
In turn, Ekaette Akpabio, the Senate president’s wife, has filed two separate lawsuits against the senator, seeking ₦350 billion in damages for alleged reputational harm to her husband.
Meanwhile, the suspended senator continues to challenge the legality of her suspension in a separate case also pending before the court.