By Our Reporter
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday found the suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, guilty of contempt of court over a social media post that violated a subsisting court order.
Justice Binta Nyako, who delivered the ruling, held that Akpoti-Uduaghan flouted an earlier restraining order issued on April 4, which barred all parties from making public comments on the ongoing legal proceedings regarding her suspension from the Senate.
Despite the order, the embattled senator published a satirical letter of apology addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on her Facebook page on April 7, in apparent defiance of the court’s directive. The court noted that the post, made in the form of a mock apology, ridiculed the authority of the court and undermined its instruction for all parties to refrain from media commentary.
“The defendant, in clear violation of this court’s gag order, proceeded to make a public mockery of the proceedings by posting a satirical letter of apology to the Senate President,” Justice Nyako stated in her ruling.
As a result, the court ordered Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to publish a formal apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page within seven days. Additionally, she was directed to pay a ₦5 million fine, noting that the contempt stemmed from a civil, not criminal, proceeding.
The contempt action had been initiated by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who alleged that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s actions amounted to a direct affront to the authority of the court. However, while the court upheld the contempt charge, it declined to grant any personal reliefs sought by Akpabio.
The ruling marks another legal twist in the political and legal drama surrounding the senator’s controversial suspension from the National Assembly.