The President of Nigeria's Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has formally disowned two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Chief Olisa Agbakoba and Monday Ubani, in the ongoing legal battle with suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

During Monday's court proceedings before Justice Binta Nyako, lawyers representing the Senate and Akpabio clarified that the two senior lawyers accused of disobeying court orders are not members of Akpabio's legal team.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had filed a lawsuit challenging her six-month suspension from the Senate on March 5, 2025. The suspension came just a day after Justice Emeka Nwite had granted her request to restrain the Senate from taking disciplinary actions against her pending the hearing of her suit.

At a previous hearing on April 4, Justice Nyako had ordered both parties and their lawyers to refrain from speaking with the media about the substantive issues in the case. However, the situation escalated when Akpoti-Uduaghan published a satirical apology letter to the Senate President on her Facebook page on April 27, which quickly went viral.

In the controversial letter, the suspended senator alleged that her suspension was based on her refusal to submit to sexual advances from the Senate President. This prompted the Senate and Akpabio to file applications on May 5, seeking a court order directing Akpoti-Uduaghan to delete the viral post and apologize for violating the court's gag order.

During Monday's proceedings, Paul Daudu and Eko Ejembi Eko, both SANs representing the respondents, brought an affidavit of non-compliance to the court's attention, accusing the Kogi senator of contempt. They argued that the satirical letter not only mocked the Senate but also touched on substantive matters before the court.

In her defense, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lead counsel Jibrin Okutepa SAN, maintained that the satirical letter addressed sexual harassment allegations against Akpabio, which she claimed is a separate issue from her unlawful suspension case currently before Justice Nyako. She further accused the respondents of also disobeying court orders and informed the court of contempt proceedings initiated against them.

In a 28-paragraph counter affidavit, the suspended senator alleged that Akpabio's motion was a strategy "to ambush me and foist an adjournment on the Court's scheduled proceedings." She claimed these actions were part of calculated moves to frustrate the judicial process and ensure she doesn't return to the Senate before completing her suspension term.

After hearing from both parties, Justice Nyako acknowledged the significance of the contempt allegations to the proceedings and fixed May 13 for the hearing of all applications and the substantive suit.

The case has attracted significant public attention, particularly due to the serious allegations of sexual harassment leveled against the Senate President and countercharges of court order violations.