In a notice of appeal obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the entire decision of Justice Binta Nyako delivered on July 4, 2025.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has formally challenged the N5 million fine imposed on her by the Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged contempt.

The federal lawmaker argued that the trial judge lacked the legal power to punish a comment made outside the courtroom on her Facebook page.

In a notice of appeal obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the entire decision of Justice Binta Nyako delivered on July 4, 2025. 

The High Court Judgment had found the Kogi Central senator guilty of contempt and ordered her to pay a punitive fine of N5 million and tender a public apology in two national dailies and on her Facebook page.

Last Friday, Justice Nyako delivered the ruling in the case filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who challenged her suspension. 

The proceedings began with a contempt application filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

In his application, Akpabio argued that a social media post made by the senator violated a previous court order that prohibited all parties from commenting to the press or posting on social media regarding the case.

Akpoti-Uduaghan's counsel contended that the post was unrelated to the court order concerning her suspension and referred instead to a separate issue involving sexual harassment allegations against Akpabio.

The senator is now appealing the ruling on six grounds, insisting that the Federal High Court lacked "the requisite jurisdiction to entertain an alleged contempt ex facie curiae involving the imposition of fine which is criminal in nature."

She further argues that the contempt charge stemmed from a satirical apology she posted online, a post she claims was unrelated to the judicial proceedings before Justice Nyako.

According to the appeal documents, the senator’s lawyers argue that "the proper procedure for contempt committed ex facie curiae is to proceed against the alleged contemnor by the regular procedure of the criminal trial before another judge" and that failure to do so constituted a "miscarriage of justice."

One of the grounds of her appeal is that the contempt allegedly committed on Facebook was outside the face of the court and should have been treated as a criminal matter subject to full trial procedure, including a charge, evidence, and trial before a different judge.

The notice of appeal specifically alleges that Justice Nyako erred in "summarily" adjudging the Appellant liable for contempt and imposing a fine without first issuing the statutory Forms 48 and 49 required under the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act.

In seeking relief from the Court of Appeal, Senator Natasha is asking for: "An order allowing the appeal;  an order setting aside the Judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division," and "an order declaring that the Appellant's satirical apology letter addressed to the 3rd Respondent dated on or about the 27th day of April, 2025 on her Facebook page did not amount to contempt of the orders of the court."

The senator also challenged the basis of the original contempt application, stating that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, through whom the application was filed, "did not expressly seek for the payment of fine of N5,000,000.00 or any amount whatsoever." 

She further accused the trial judge of substituting the original reliefs sought with her own punitive orders, thereby "descending into the arena of conflict."

In her appeal, Natasha maintains that the Facebook post in question dealt with an entirely different matter, allegations of sexual harassment, which were not the subject of the main suit pending before the court.

"The sexual harassment allegation was not before the Trial Court," the appeal document states, adding that "the Appellant’s satirical apology was manifestly in respect of allegations unconnected to the subject matter of the substantive dispute."

The senator is also asking the appellate court to rule that the "award of N5,000,000.00 against the Appellant is excessive and punitive," describing the underlying offence as minor and based on a misunderstanding of the court’s previous orders.