The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday found the suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, guilty of contempt for a satirical Facebook post published on April 27.
Justice Binta Nyako delivered the ruling in a suit filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan challenging her suspension from the Senate.
Before addressing the substantive case, the court considered a contempt application filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio where he argued that the Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Facebook post violated an earlier court order that barred all parties from commenting publicly or on social media about the ongoing legal proceedings.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team contended that the post was unrelated to the suspension case and instead, referenced a separate matter involving sexual harassment allegations against Akpabio, who is listed as the third respondent in the case.
However, Justice Nyako held that, upon reviewing both the post and the application, she was satisfied that the content was connected to the suspension case and constituted a breach of the court’s directive.
The court subsequently found Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of contempt and ordered her to publish a written apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page within seven days.
A fine of ₦5 million was also imposed on the suspended Kogi Central senator over the post.
More details soon…
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