The outcome of the appeal will determine the next steps in the legal dispute arising from the suspension of the Kogi Central senator.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Senate President Godswill Akpabio has asked the Supreme Court to undo a ruling of the Court of Appeal arising from legal proceedings connected to the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had struck out a brief of argument filed in the matter on the grounds that it did not comply with the provisions of the Court of Appeal Rules.
The appellate court ruling which was delivered on 28 November, 2025 held that the brief was incompetent due to multiple procedural defects including failure to comply with prescribed font size and line spacing, exceeding the maximum page limit of 35 pages, and the absence of an application seeking leave of court to regularise the defects.
The court also found that the Notice of Appeal itself was affected by procedural irregularities, with substantive breaches which affected the competence of the appeal and led to the brief of argument been struck out.
The Senate President argues that the Court of Appeal denied him the right to fair hearing by declining to grant leave to amend the defective processes or to exceed the stipulated page limit, urging the apex court to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and allow the appeal to be heard on the merits after compliance with procedural requirements.
The legal team representing Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has complied with the applicable rules in the same proceedings, according to records before the court, while Akpoti-Uduaghan has expressed confidence in the judicial process and reiterated her commitment to due process. Her lawyers maintain that the Court of Appeal acted within the law in striking out the defective brief.
The Supreme Court is expected to determine whether the appellate court was right in striking out the processes or whether the appellant should have been allowed to regularise the defects.
The outcome of the appeal will determine the next steps in the legal dispute arising from the suspension of the Kogi Central senator.