Court finds Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of contempt, orders apology, N5m fine

The Federal High Court in Abuja has found the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, guilty of contempt of court for violating an existing gag order by publishing a satirical apology to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Delivering the ruling on Friday, Justice Binta Nyako held that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan acted in defiance of the court’s directive by making a post on Facebook on April 7 that was intended to ridicule the judicial process.

The post, styled as an “apology” to Senator Akpabio, was deemed a clear mockery of the gag order earlier imposed by the court on all parties involved in the case.

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As a consequence of her actions, the court ordered Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to issue a formal apology within seven days.

The apology is to be published in two national newspapers and reposted on her Facebook page. Additionally, the court imposed a ₦5 million fine on her for the civil contempt.

The contempt proceedings were initiated by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. However, despite finding Akpoti-Uduaghan in contempt, the court declined to issue any further order in Akpabio’s favour.

In a related development, Justice Nyako proceeded to deliver judgment on a separate suit filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, in which she is challenging her six-month suspension from the Senate. The details of that ruling were not immediately disclosed as of press time