ABUJA — The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has struck out two motions filed by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and imposed a fine of ₦100,000 against him.
The decision was delivered by a three-member panel of the court, led by Justice Hamman Barka, on May 21, 2025, following Akpabio’s application to withdraw the motions.
The motions, marked CV/395/M1/2025 and CV/395/M2/2025, were dated March 3 and March 25, respectively, and stemmed from Akpabio’s appeal against a Federal High Court ruling delivered on March 10, 2025, in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025.
The appeal named Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and Senator Neda Imasuen, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, as respondents.
Akpabio had sought multiple reliefs, including:
- An extension of time to seek leave to appeal on grounds of mixed law and fact.
- Leave to appeal the Federal High Court’s decision.
- Additional time to file his notice of appeal.
- A stay of proceedings in the pending case before the Federal High Court.
However, following his decision to withdraw the motions, the appellate court granted the request and struck out both applications.
In its ruling, the court stated:
“Application seeking to withdraw the two motions dated and filed on 20/3/2025 and 25/3/2025 is granted and the motions are struck out. Costs of ₦100,000 are awarded to the 1st Respondent. Appeal No. CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/395M/2025 to be deleted.”
The ruling is seen as a legal setback for Akpabio, who had sought to challenge the High Court’s decision in a case filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Neither Akpabio nor his legal team has publicly commented on the court’s decision as of the time of this report.