By Ghazali Ibrahim 
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out two motions filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and ordered him to pay N100,000 in legal costs to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in a ruling delivered on May 21, 2025.
The decision, handed down by a three-member panel led by Justice Hamman Barka, followed Akpabio’s formal application to withdraw the motions, which were related to an ongoing legal dispute originating from a Federal High Court judgment delivered on March 10, 2025.
A certified true copy of the ruling surfaced on Tuesday night, shedding light on the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, in which Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is the lead plaintiff.
Respondents in the original suit include the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and Senator Neda Imasuen, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
The withdrawn motions, marked CV/395/M1/2025 and CV/395/M2/2025, were filed by Akpabio in March 2025 and sought multiple reliefs, including leave to appeal the Federal High Court’s decision and a stay of proceedings pending appeal.
However, the Court of Appeal granted Akpabio’s withdrawal request, struck out the motions, and imposed a N100,000 fine in favour of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The court ruled: “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 N100,000 are awarded to the 1st Respondent. Appeal No. CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/395M/2025 to be deleted.”
The legal battle stems from a suit filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan challenging decisions and actions involving her role in the Senate and alleged irregularities by Senate leadership and committees.
With this latest court ruling, attention now shifts to whether Akpabio will pursue further legal action or seek alternative political resolutions.
