The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has dismissed two motions filed by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and ordered him to pay costs of ₦100,000.
On May 21, 2025, a three-member panel led by Justice Hamman Barka struck out the motions following Akpabio’s request to withdraw his appeal.
The motions, filed on March 3 and March 25, 2025 (case numbers CV/395/M1/2025 and CV/395/M2/2025), named Akpabio as the appellant. The respondents included Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and Senator Neda Imasuem, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
Akpabio had sought several orders from the court, including an extension of time to file a notice of appeal and leave to appeal a decision by the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a suit involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and others. The Federal High Court’s ruling, delivered on March 10, 2025 by Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu, was the subject of the proposed appeal.
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal granted the withdrawal of the motions, struck them out, and awarded ₦100,000 in costs to the first respondent. The appeal case number CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/395M/2025 was accordingly deleted.