Akpabio seeks Supreme Court’s intervention in legal battle with Natasha

Undeterred by the Court of Appeal judgement in favour of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has approached the Supreme Court to upturn Appeal Court judgement and allow him to refile defamatory suit.

Though the female lawmaker has since served out her suspension and was back to her legislative activities, Akpabio wanted defamatory suit against him distilled in Court with its record in the legal jurisprudence that Natasha falsely accused him.

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CAPITAL POST reported before that an Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal struck out the Federal Government’s brief of argument, which bothers on the defamatory aspect of the Senator’s suspension.

The Court of Appeal cited flaws and concluded that it was fundamentally defective, failing to comply with its mandatory rules.

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“In its 28 November 2025 ruling, the appellate panel highlighted multiple procedural lapses: unauthorized font and line spacing, exceeding the statutory 35-page limit, and failure to seek leave to correct the defects.

“The Notice of Appeal itself was also found flawed. The court concluded that these were substantive violations affecting the competence of the appeal, resulting in the dismissal of the brief.”

Akpabio has however, criticised the ruling, insisting it was unlawful. In his appeal to the Supreme Court, he contends that the appellate court violated his constitutional right to fair hearing by denying him the chance to correct the defective brief or exceed the page limit.

He is urging the apex court to nullify the appellate proceedings and allow him to refile his arguments in line with established rules.

Legal experts caution, however, that the right to fair hearing does not exempt litigants from procedural compliance, especially where rules are applied uniformly. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team complied fully with the same regulations, weakening claims of unfair treatment.

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