Justice Orders Public Apology in Two National Dailies and on Social Media
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday found Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, guilty of contempt of court over a satirical Facebook post she made on April 27.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Binta Nyako said the senator’s social media post violated an existing court order that barred all parties involved in her suspension suit from commenting publicly or posting on social media about the matter.
The contempt proceedings stemmed from an application filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Facebook post breached the court's restraint order. Akpabio is listed as the third respondent in the ongoing case challenging the senator’s suspension from the Senate.
In her defence, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team claimed the post in question did not refer to the suspension case but was instead related to sexual harassment allegations involving Akpabio in a different context.
However, Justice Nyako ruled that after examining the content of the post and the application filed by Akpabio, she was convinced that the senator's comments were indeed linked to the ongoing suspension dispute.
The court therefore found Akpoti-Uduaghan in contempt, ordering her to:
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Publish a written apology in two national newspapers
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Post the same apology on her Facebook page
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Pay a fine of ₦5 million, to be fulfilled within seven days
The development adds a new layer of legal trouble for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is already in court to contest her suspension from the upper legislative chamber. The ruling also underscores the judiciary's warning against undermining the sanctity of legal processes through public commentary, especially on social media platforms.
The senator has yet to issue a public response to the verdict at the time of reporting.
