Senate President Godswill Akpabio has escalated the legal dispute over the suspension of Kogi Central senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Supreme Court. The move follows a Court of Appeal ruling that struck out a key brief linked to the case. The decision has reignited political and legal tensions around the controversial suspension.
Court documents dated December 1, 2025, show that Akpabio is asking the apex court to overturn the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division. The appellate court had earlier struck out the Federal Government’s brief of argument related to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the brief was incompetent and failed to comply with mandatory procedural rules. The panel held that the document breached several provisions of the Court of Appeal Rules, including incorrect font size and line spacing, exceeding the 35-page limit, and failing to obtain leave of court to depart from the rules.
Certified court records show that the justices also found the Notice of Appeal itself to be defective. The violations were described as substantive, affecting the competence of the entire appeal. As a result, the court struck out the brief in its entirety.
Although Akpabio publicly described the ruling as “illegal,” court documents indicate that the decision was based strictly on procedural non-compliance. Dissatisfied, the Senate President has now personally approached the Supreme Court, a move that has drawn public attention.
Legal and political observers say it is unusual for a sitting Senate President to pursue such a case directly. Sources within the National Assembly claim Akpabio has been closely monitoring the matter and showing strong interest in its outcome, raising concerns among some legal watchers.
The case is also shaped by long-standing political tension between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan. The first-term senator has built a public profile as a vocal critic of Senate leadership. Insiders say her outspokenness unsettled the Senate President and deepened internal frictions.
In his Notice of Appeal, Akpabio argued that the Court of Appeal denied him a fair hearing. He claimed the court erred by refusing to grant leave to regularise the defective brief or exceed the page limit. He asked the Supreme Court to nullify the November 28, 2025 proceedings and allow him to refile his brief.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed they have been served with the appeal documents. They described the move as desperate and expressed confidence that the judiciary would uphold the appellate court’s decision.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months in March 2025 after protesting the relocation of her seat during plenary. Although the suspension expired in September, she returned only later amid legal disputes, insisting she had no apology to offer. With the case now before the Supreme Court, public scrutiny has intensified once again.
