Akpabio heads to Supreme Court over Appeal Court ruling in Natasha dispute

Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has approached the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn a ruling of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, arising from the legal dispute involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Akpabio is challenging the appellate court’s decision to strike out his brief of argument in an appeal connected to the suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan. Sources in Abuja disclosed that the Senate President’s legal team proceeded to the apex court after the Appeal Court declared his brief fundamentally defective and incompetent.

The Court of Appeal held that Akpabio’s brief failed to comply with mandatory provisions of the Court of Appeal Rules. The court cited several procedural violations, including the use of unauthorised font size and line spacing, exceeding the stipulated 35-page limit, and failure to seek leave of court to regularise the defects.

According to the appellate court, the breaches were not minor technical errors but substantive infractions that went to the competence of the appeal, thereby warranting the striking out of the brief.

In his notice of appeal to the Supreme Court, Akpabio argued that the Court of Appeal violated his constitutional right to fair hearing. He contended that the lower court erred by refusing to grant him leave to amend the defective brief or to re-file a corrected version within or outside the prescribed page limit.

The Senate President further alleged unequal treatment by the appellate court, claiming that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s brief was accepted despite alleged non-compliance with similar formatting requirements. He maintained that the refusal to grant him leave resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

The protracted legal battle has continued to generate political interest, with some observers viewing the case as part of a wider struggle for authority and control within the Senate.

Meanwhile, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team has expressed confidence in the judiciary, describing the Supreme Court appeal as a last-ditch effort and affirming readiness to defend the Appeal Court’s ruling at the apex court.

Very Nigerian.

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