Cours Fine Natasha N5 Million over Satirical Apology Letter To Akpabio

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has found Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended lawmaker representing Kogi Central, guilty of contempt and fined her N5 million.

Justice Binta Nyako, who delivered the ruling on Friday, held that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan violated a court order by publishing a satirical apology to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on her Facebook page on April 7.

The court stated that the apology “made a mockery of a gag order that was placed on the parties by the court.”

In response, Justice Nyako ordered the embattled senator to publish a fresh apology in two national dailies and also on her Facebook page within seven days. The judge emphasized that the contempt occurred in a civil proceeding.

Although the contempt proceedings were initiated by Senator Akpabio, the court declined to grant him any specific relief.

The ruling comes as the court prepares to deliver judgment on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suit challenging her six-month suspension by the Senate.

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This development marks another turn in the ongoing political and legal tensions between Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate leadership.

The lawmaker’s Facebook post, which appeared to ridicule the court’s earlier gag order, formed the crux of the contempt charge. The judge’s decision underscores the judiciary’s warning against any public defiance or misrepresentation of court directives.