ABUJA, Nigeria — Suspended senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a motion filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio seeking the removal of a satirical apology she posted on social media.
In a motion presented on Monday, May 5, 2025, Mr Akpabio’s legal counsel, led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, requested the court to compel the senator representing Kogi Central to delete the post across her social media platforms.
The application also sought a directive for her to publish a written apology in no fewer than two national newspapers and to submit an affidavit of compliance.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, in a counter-affidavit submitted through her legal team led by senior advocate Jubril Okutepa, argued that her satirical post did not breach any court-imposed gag order.
Her lawyers described the application as a politically motivated attempt to suppress her freedom of expression.
“That the instant motion is borne of malice and intended to harass, intimidate, and scandalise me for exercising my constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing and to free expression,” the counter-affidavit stated.
The dispute between Mr Akpabio and the Kogi lawmaker stems from an altercation over seating arrangements in the Senate chamber earlier this year.
The row escalated when Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the Senate President of sexual harassment — a claim she made shortly before her suspension from the upper chamber in March.
The court is scheduled to rule on both the motion and the counter-affidavit on Monday, May 12, 2025.
