Natasha: Akpabio, Others Risk Imprisonment Over Alleged Contempt Of Court

The Senator representing Kogi Central in the Senate, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed a contempt suit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), and chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, Senator Neda Imasuem, over what she described as a willful disobedience of a court order.

The embattled lawmaker, who was suspended from the Senate for six months over misconduct, insisted that her suspension violated a subsisting order of the court issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja on March 4.

Based on her application, the court, in a notice of disobedience signed by its Registrar pursuant to Section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act 2004, warned the defendants that they could face imprisonment for contempt of court.

The Form 48 stated that the defendants “deliberately and contumaciously disregarded” a binding directive of the court and proceeded “in flagrant defiance of the authority of the court.” It was alleged that the interim injunction, which restrained the Senate from taking action against Akpoti-Uduaghan, was duly served on the defendants on March 5.

Recall that Justice Obiora Egwuatu had in response to an ex-parte application filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Michael Numa, barred the Senate Committee from proceeding with its investigation of Natasha over misconduct.

The court had also directed the Senate leadership to show cause why an order of interlocutory injunction should not be granted against it, restraining them from proceeding with the purported investigation against the Plaintiff for alleged misconduct.

Additionally, Justice Egwuatu ruled that any action taken against Akpoti-Uduaghan during the pendency of the suit would be “null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.”

The court further granted her permission to serve the legal documents on the defendants through substituted means, either by handing them to the Clerk to the National Assembly, pasting them at the National Assembly premises, or publishing them in two national newspapers.

However, in response to the suit, Senate President Akpabio has challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that it has no authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the Senate.