Federal High Court Fines Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan N5 Million for Contempt.
Orders Apology in National Dailies and Facebook Page Within Seven Days. The Federal High Court in Abuja has fined Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan the sum of N5 million for contempt of court, following a violation of a restraining order issued earlier in the year.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Binta Nyako held that the senator acted in violation of an order made on April 4, which barred all parties from making public comments on the subject of a pending suit. Despite the subsisting order, Senator Natasha was found to have posted a satirical letter on her Facebook page on April 27.
The court ruled that the post constituted a breach of the court’s directive and amounted to contempt. Consequently, Justice Nyako ordered the senator to pay N5 million to the coffers of the Federal Government.
In addition to the fine, the court mandated Senator Natasha to publish a public apology in two national newspapers and on her official Facebook page within seven days.
Justice Nyako also affirmed the authority of the Nigerian Senate to discipline any of its members for unethical conduct. Citing Senate Rules, the judge noted that the Senate President holds the power to allocate seats to members, and lawmakers are only permitted to speak from seats assigned to them.