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Legal twist in court, as Akpabio moves to convict Natasha over alleged contempt
Legal fireworks continued on Monday before Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, in the matter between Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, over the former’s suspension from the Senate.
But proceedings had to be halted in the main case as the court adjouned to first hear the contempt proceedings brought against the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, at the National Assembly, by Akpabio’s lawyers, for Tuesday, May 13.
At the resumption of the matter on Monday, the lawyers defending the Senate President informed the court that they had filed an application highlighting the Akpoti-Uduaghan’s alleged contempt, contradicting a gag order from the court for parties to refrain from speaking about the case in the media.
The female Senator, one of the four in the Senate of the 10th NASS, had been suspended by the Senate on March 6 for unruly behaviour based on her confrontation of Akpabio on the floor of the assembly, during plenary on February 20 on the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, had rushed to court to obtain an injunction restraining the Senate from investigating her, but regardless of the order obtained ex-parte on March 4, the Senate still moved against her, not only clamping the suspension order, but followed with a swathe of other measures, including stoppage of her salaries.
But a new twist which was raised on Monday was in regards of the courts order on April 4, 2025, where Nyako restrained all the parties, including the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and Nada Imasuen, Chairman of the committee that investigated the matter, who were all joined in the suit, not to grant media interviews or make social media posts related to the case.
At the resumed sitting on Monday, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team, led by Jibrin Okutekpa, had made to proceed, telling the court that the matter was fixed for hearing and that all required documents had been filed.
But Charles Yoila, Paul Daudu, Ekoh Ejembi (SAN) and Valentine Offia lawyers for the four defence parties who affirmed their compliance with the court’s prior directives and expressed readiness to proceed with the hearing, raised the issue of contempt.
Daudu told the court that despite the order against social media posts, the plaintiff had published a satirical post on her Facebook page, stating: “This matter is coming up for definite hearing. The second defendant has filed its schedule of hearing. Ordinarily, we are ready to proceed, but a further affidavit was served on me just on Friday, which I am entitled to respond to.
“This court ordered that there should be no social media posts, but there was one. The plaintiff herself posted a satirical apology on her Facebook page. The post mocked the court and violated its order, asking it to hold her in contempt.
Ejembi, while echoing the submission, added: “We are alleging that the Facebook post made by the plaintiff is a mockery of the court’s proceedings. We tender a Punch newspaper report showing she made the post despite the court’s order.”
But, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers, countered, saying, Facebook post was related to the sexual harassment allegation and not the issue before the court, urged the court to disregard the defendants’ submissions and proceed with hearing the substantive matter.
Okutekpa, however failed to get the court to fast-track the hearing, reminding it that the female Senator had spent 68 cumulative days out of the National Assembly, as Nyako insisted that the contempt issue must be addressed first.
“I cannot proceed with this matter until I conclude on the issue of contempt. If there is contempt, I have to hear and determine it first,” the judge said, urging Akpoti-Uduaghan’s who also raised a contempt allegation against all the defendants to also bring them for hearing.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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