The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed two motions filed by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and imposed a compulsory fine of ₦100,000 against him.
A three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Hamman Barka, struck out the motions on May 21, 2025, following Akpabio’s application to withdraw the appeal. A certified true copy of the court’s ruling was obtained by PUNCH Online on Tuesday night.
The motions, marked CV/395/M1/2025 and CV/395/M2/2025, were filed on March 3 and March 25, 2025, respectively, with Akpabio listed as the appellant.
The respondents in the matter were Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen.
In his motions, Akpabio sought the court’s permission to appeal the March 10, 2025 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025), presided over by Justice Obiora Egwuatu. His requests included:
An extension of time to seek leave to appeal the Federal High Court’s decision on grounds of mixed law and fact.
Leave to appeal the same judgment.
An extension of time to file the notice of appeal.
A stay of further proceedings in the High Court pending the outcome of his appeal.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeal granted the request to withdraw the motions and consequently struck them out. It also ordered Akpabio to pay ₦100,000 in costs to the first respondent, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. The court further directed that the appeal (No. CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/395M/2025) be deleted from its records.
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