In a dramatic legal twist, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a powerful appeal against a controversial ₦5 million contempt ruling delivered by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing the judge of procedural irregularities, bias, and abuse of judicial discretion.
The ruling, handed down on July 4, 2025, found the Kogi Central lawmaker in contempt of court over a satirical Facebook post interpreted by the trial judge as flouting a gag order issued on April 4, 2025. But in a blistering appeal filed before the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Senator Natasha insists the post in question neither referenced the court nor its proceedings and was unjustly weaponised against her.
In her six-point grounds of appeal, the senator contends that the contempt allegedly committed was ex facie curiae—outside the face of the court—and therefore required a separate criminal trial procedure in accordance with the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act. She accused Justice Nyako of bypassing statutory requirements such as the issuance of Forms 48 and 49, effectively denying her the opportunity to purge herself of contempt.
“The law is clear: where an alleged contempt is committed outside the courtroom, the judge cannot summarily try and punish the accused without due process,” her lead counsel, Michael Jonathan Numa, SAN, stated in the notice of appeal.
Senator Natasha further alleges judicial bias, noting that the same court turned a blind eye to the numerous televised, printed, and online commentaries made by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba and Monday Ubani, both counsel to opposing parties in the suit.
“Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done,” she argued through her lawyers, citing unequal treatment and selective enforcement of the court’s gag order.
The appeal also challenges the severity of the penalty imposed, which included a fine of ₦5 million and a public apology published in two national dailies and on Facebook. Her lawyers described the ruling as “excessive, punitive, and a miscarriage of justice.”
In addition to seeking the outright reversal of the contempt conviction, the senator is asking the Court of Appeal to declare that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to summarily punish contempt committed outside its courtroom; the satirical apology was unrelated to the ongoing proceedings and not in breach of any court order and the penalty imposed was disproportionate and outside the prayers sought by the third respondent, Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The appeal is seen by legal observers as a major test of judicial accountability in an era where social media expression continues to clash with the boundaries of courtroom decorum.
As the case proceeds, Nigerians await to see whether the higher court will uphold the sanctity of due process—or reinforce a precedent many now fear may chill political expression and free speech in judicial contexts.