Category Nigeria News

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja has adjourned till Tuesday, May 13, for the definite hearing of the contempt claims made against the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

Justice Nyako fixed the date following the submission of the second and third defendants, who stated that an application by them is before the court, drawing its attention to the alleged contempt of the plaintiff.

At the resumed hearing, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team, led by Jibrin Okutekpa, informed the court that the matter was slated for hearing as previously adjourned.

He added that the court had asked parties in the suit to file relevant documents, which they had done, and that they were ready to proceed.

Charles Yoila appeared for the first defendant, Paul Daudu (SAN) announced his appearance for the second defendant, Ekoh Ejembi (SAN), appeared for the third defendant, and Valentine Offia announced his appearance for the fourth defendant.

READ ALSO: Compel Natasha To Delete Satirical Apology Letter, Akpabio Tells Court

All the defence lawyers informed the court that, in line with the court’s orders from the previous sitting, they had filed their schedule of hearing processes and were ready for the hearing.

However, the Senate’s counsel, Daudu, informed the court that, despite the court’s order to refrain from making social media posts related to the suit, the plaintiff had posted a satirical apology on her social media page.

“This matter is coming up for definite hearing. The second defendant has filed its schedule of hearing. Ordinarily, we are ready to proceed with the hearing; however, a further affidavit was served on me just on Friday, which I am entitled to respond to.

“This court ordered that there should be no social media posts, but there was one. There was a satirical post by none other than the plaintiff herself, titled Satirical Apology, on her Facebook page,” Daudu said.

He added that the plaintiff’s action was a mockery of the court and disobedience of its order, urging the court to hold her in contempt.

Akpabio’s counsel, Ejembi, aligned himself with the submission of the second defendant, stating that the plaintiff had disobeyed the court’s order.

“We are alleging that the Facebook post made by the plaintiff herself is a mockery of the proceedings of this court. We tender the Punch newspaper report, which stated that the plaintiff made the satirical apology post despite the court’s orders,” Ejembi said.

The plaintiff’s counsel, however, insisted that the post on their client’s Facebook page was about sexual harassment and unrelated to the matter before Justice Nyako.

Okutekpa urged the court to dismiss the submission of the second and third defendants and proceed with the definite hearing of the substantive matter.

“My contention is to invite my Lord to see that the alleged publication by my client has no nexus to this case whatsoever.

“Our counter-affidavit is not about sexual harassment; it is about the matter before this court. How does the satirical post relate to the matter before this court?”

He emphasised the need for an expedited hearing, stating, “Our client has spent 68 days cumulatively out of the National Assembly, and we ask for expeditious hearing without wasting more time.”

Justice Nyako, however, stated that she would not proceed with the case without first addressing the issue of contempt, stressing that she needed to determine whether the plaintiff was guilty of contempt of court.

“I cannot proceed with this matter until I conclude on the issue of contempt. If there is contempt, I have to hear it first and determine the matter,” Justice Nyako said.

The plaintiff’s counsel in return also raised an issue of contempt against all the defendants.

“My Lord you have paused this trial for a contempt of this court. My Lord we also have an issue of contempt of court that all the defendants in this case are guilty of,” Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer stated.

Justice Nyako warned the lawyers against disobeying court orders, stating that if clients continued to disobey the court, she would refuse to hear their submissions.

“I have the power to summon all of your clients to this court and all of them will have to be here so they need to calm down.

“If counsel or litigant disobeys the court, then the court have no business hearing them. That is my take”.

Addressing Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team she said “If you have an application for contempt then bring it up let the court hear it”.

Further admonishing the counsel against allowing their clients disobey the court she said, “You cannot allow your client to disrespect this court. If they are found in contempt then they serve the punishment if not the court moves on”.

Akapbio and Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal brawl originated from a sitting arrangement dispute during plenary on February 20.

Afterwards, Akpoti-Uduaghan in a TV program where she featured as a guest, made sexual harasament allegations against Akapbio.

Following the events that followed the disagreement between the two, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan approached the Federal High Court to seek an order restraining the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and public petitions from investigating her.

In an ex parte motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan sued the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, the Senate President, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Senator Nedamwen Imasuen.

On March 4, the court issued an order restraining the Senate from commencing disciplinary proceedings against Akpoti-Uduaghan following her ex parte application.

The Senate, however, proceeded to suspend Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan on March 6, following the committee’s report on her alleged gross misconduct—despite the case being sub judice.

On Friday, April 4, 2025, Justice Nyako issued an order restraining Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senate President Akpabio, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, Senator Imasuen, from granting further media interviews or making posts on social media while the suit remains pending before the court.

The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, says it is out of place for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to blame the ruling party for its internal crisis.

Morka, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, alongside former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the opposition can’t be blaming the APC for its predicament when the party doesn’t even have a settled national chairman and secretary.

He was responding to Ologbondiyan’s claim that the recent defections of opposition leaders to the APC are as a result of threats of a witch-hunt by the ruling party.

READ ALSO: Defections: Politicians Looking For Where ‘Sins’ Are Forgiven – Ologbondiyan

“First of all, I am sure that my brother (Ologbondiyan) does not mean a whole lot what he said because he can’t possibly under any guise be blaming the APC for the utter dysfunction and immobility within the internal ranks of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party,” Morka said.

He questioned how a party like the PDP, which he claimed cannot resolve issues surrounding its chairmanship and secretary, can be trusted to lead the country.

The former PDP spokesperson, however, maintained that no matter how many opposition leaders the APC manages to attract, the party will still have to contend with millions of Nigerians in its bid to retain power in 2027.

“But you know one thing, at the end of it all, it is going to be about the Nigerians’ position. “You may pack all the 36 governors and put them in one boardroom and say they should declare for you. Have you packed the over 200 million Nigerians into the same boardroom? The answer is no,” he said.

A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has attributed the recent defections of opposition leaders to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to threats of a witch-hunt by the ruling party.

Last month, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, along with his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa, several commissioners, and others, defected from the PDP to the APC. There is growing speculation that more governors may follow suit in the near future.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Ologbondiyan stated that the governors and other opposition leaders defecting to the APC are merely seeking refuge to avoid being hounded by the ruling party.

READ ALSO: Delta Gov Oborevwori, Deputy, Commissioners, Others Dump PDP For APC

“You must not forget that the former National Chairman of APC told Nigerians that just come over here, we will forgive all your sins, so people are looking for where sins are forgiven,” Ologbodiyan said on the programme.

The former PDP spokesperson, however, maintained that no matter how many opposition leaders the APC manages to attract, the party will still have to contend with millions of Nigerians in its bid to retain power in 2027.

“But you know one thing, at the end of it all, it is going to be about the Nigerians’ position. “You may pack all the 36 governors and put them in one boardroom and say they should declare for you. Have you packed the over 200 million Nigerians into the same boardroom? The answer is no,” he said.

‘You can’t blame us for your dysfunction’

Responding to Ologbondiyan’s claims on the same programme, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said it was misplaced for the PDP to blame the ruling party for its internal crisis.

“First of all, I am sure that my brother (Kola Ologbondiyan) does not mean a whole lot what he said because he can’t possibly under any guise be blaming the APC for the utter dysfunction and immobility within the internal ranks of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party,” Morka said.

He said that the PDP can’t be blaming the APC for its predicament when the party doesn’t even have a settled national chairman and secretary.

The Federal Executive Council has approved a group life insurance scheme for federal government officials, civil servants, and some other workers at the federal level.

The approval was given at the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, said the scheme covers key government officials, comprising the President, the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, ministers, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, permanent secretaries and employees of federal government ministries and treasury funded agencies.

The scheme also covers paramilitary agencies such as the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, the Nigeria Correctional Service, the Federal Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and the Office of the National Security Adviser.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: FEC Approves Medipool To Lower Drug Prices

“The scheme underscores the importance that President Bola Tinubu’s Administration has placed welfare of staff, specifically the welfare of the federal public servant.

“The Group Life Insurance Scheme is a scheme whereby the Federal Government has taken out a life policy on each public servant. And this means that if the unfortunate incident of death occurs, the deceased public servants’ next of kin stands to have a benefit to help the family cushion the family at that time of loss,” Walson-Jack said.

The scheme is an annual one, and today’s approval was for the 2025/2026 policy year, which would commence from the date of payment of premium to underwriters in line with the no-premium, no cover policy.

However, she said the insurance scheme would expire at the end of 2026.

“The approval for today was for the appointment of 17 insurance underwriters for the group life insurance cover and the year 2025/2026. The premium is paid to the insurance companies for a duration of 12 months.

The Federal Government has approved a new policy known as Medipool, which may lower the costs of drugs and other medical consumables for Nigerians.

This was part of the decisions reached at the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on Monday.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, said Medipool is a group purchasing organisation for competitive pricing and to be a supplier of essential medicines and healthcare products across Nigeria.

READ ALSO: FG Confirms Full Repayment Of $3.4bn COVID-19 IMF Loan

According to him, Medipool was developed to consolidate the demand from basic healthcare centres and federal tertiary hospitals, enabling the government to leverage bulk purchasing power to lower medical costs.

“Today, council approved Medipool; it’s a group purchasing organisation for competitive pricing and to be supplier of essential medicines and healthcare products across Nigeria, through the Federal Government’s intervention, the basic health care provision fund, but also eventually outside that, through federal tertiary hospitals, so that as a buyer, we can negotiate lower prices. 

“So, it’s using the monopsony power of the government as a large buyer of those commodities, negotiate lower prices and then channel those commodities,” he said.

Speaking further, the minister explained, “And the scope includes, but it’s not limited to procurement planning, distribution monitoring, supply chain, logistics management, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, as well as ensuring that local manufacturers are supported, and import substitution and the financial management and payment systems, as well as capacity building and training and contingency planning to ensure steady availability of essential drugs that are the quality that Nigerians can benefit and at a lower cost through, a public private partnership.”

He noted that the Medipool model was benchmarked against similar initiatives in countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.

He emphasised that the administration aims to support local manufacturing, promote import substitution, and ensure Nigerians have access to high-quality, affordable medicines.

FEC also awarded a N2.3 billion contract for the procurement of a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterisation machine for Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto.

This, the minister explained, was essentially to help the university hospital provide diagnosis and treatment services for heart and blood vessel problems, heart attacks, and irregular heart rates.

“The university hospital in Sokoto will now have this capability, which will serve the population in Sokoto State, the North West geopolitical zone of our country, and indeed the country. It will save lives, but also contribute towards reversing outbound medical tourism, because Nigerians will be able to access services that they were not able to,” he added.

In a renewed offensive against cultism and violent crime, the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has vowed to intensify the demolition of buildings linked to cult groups.

He also threatened legal action against members of the Neo Black Movement.

The state government, in a statement released on Monday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua, said it has begun legal consultations aimed at prosecuting leaders of the group, following recent admissions by self-acclaimed members who publicly condemned the demolition of one of their alleged operational bases in Benin City.

“This decision is premised on public admission by self-acclaimed leaders of the group, who have openly identified themselves and condemned the lawful demolition of a building linked to their activities.

“By publicly aligning themselves with the structure and its usage, they have confirmed their association with the actions coordinated from the premises—thus paving the way for lawful prosecution,” the statement read.

According to the statement, the demolished building was not a mere structure but a hub for coordinating attacks across the Benin metropolis and other parts of the state.

It noted that the demolition action was based on actionable intelligence and carried out in full compliance with the law.

“No responsible government will watch helplessly as criminal enclaves flourish under its watch,” the statement added.

Governor Okpebholo has also demanded that the Neo Black Movement provide full disclosure on its claim of renovating six public schools since his assumption of office.

READ ALSO: Army Arrests 12 Suspected Terrorists in Kwara

The government has requested the group to submit the names and locations of the schools, documented evidence of the renovations, and any official approval obtained from the state.

“Failure to do so will result in immediate legal action for defamation, misrepresentation, and unauthorised interference in public infrastructure,” the governor warned.

In a further move to bolster security, the government announced plans to build a divisional police station on the site of the recently demolished cult-linked building.

The facility, it said, will serve as a deterrent to criminal activity and a symbol of the administration’s zero tolerance for cultism.

Governor Okpebholo reiterated his administration’s commitment to eradicating cultism from the state, stressing that more demolitions of properties associated with criminal gangs will follow.

“As the Chief Security Officer of the state, Governor Okpebholo will not sit back and watch innocent citizens killed by criminal gangs hiding under the guise of cult groups. It is the governor’s sworn responsibility to protect lives and property, and he is committed to executing that mandate decisively,” the statement read.

The governor further clarified that he has no past, present, or future affiliation with any cult group or clandestine organisation.

“Let it be made unequivocally clear: Edo State is not, and will never be, a haven for cultists. Anyone involved in cult-related activities is advised to cease and desist or relocate elsewhere. Edo will remain hostile ground for cultism and all its manifestations,” he declared.

Okpebholo noted in the statement that the Anti-Cultism Law, passed by the Edo State House of Assembly, remains in full effect and will continue to be enforced across the state.