by George Ozalla
An Abuja-based legal practitioner, Mr Dayo Fadugba, has faulted a report published by Opr.news on proceedings at the Court of Appeal relating to the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing the publication as misleading, speculative and a distortion of judicial facts.
In a rejoinder issued on Monday, Fadugba said the report wrongly portrayed the appeal as having dealt a major blow to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and falsely suggested that he was reacting to an adverse outcome by escalating the matter to the Supreme Court. He stated that this narrative did not reflect the actual posture of the case before the Court of Appeal.
According to him, the report failed to correctly identify the parties to the appeal, the issues submitted for determination and the decisions, if any, taken by the court, noting that such errors undermined the credibility of the entire account. He stressed that the Federal Government was never a party to the suit and that no brief of argument was struck out, contrary to the assertions made in the publication.
Fadugba explained that the official record of proceedings did not contain any order striking out a brief of argument, adding that the claim existed only in the imagination of the reporter. He said responsible court reporting required journalists to accurately report what transpired in court rather than insert conjecture or personal interpretation.
He further noted that the report revealed a poor understanding of appellate procedure, pointing out that the Rules of the Court of Appeal allow parties to seek leave to exceed prescribed page limits in briefs of argument. He stated that where such leave is refused, the usual practice is to direct compliance within a specified time or grant an adjournment in the interest of justice, rather than shutting out a party.
The lawyer described the celebratory tone of the report as legally unsound and deliberately deceptive, arguing that no substantive or adverse determination had been made against the Senate President. He added that there was no judicial pronouncement capable of supporting claims of victory or defeat by any party.
Fadugba also accused the publication of blurring the line between reporting and advocacy, saying the article read more like a legal brief prepared on behalf of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan than an objective news report. He warned that courts speak through their records and rulings, not through the conjectures of journalists driven by personal or political agendas.
He concluded that the Opr.news report stood condemned by its inaccuracies, speculative conclusions and partisan slant, urging journalists covering court proceedings to exercise restraint, fidelity to facts and respect for judicial processes.
The appeal arises from legal challenges linked to the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a matter that has continued to attract public and media attention due to the political stature of the parties involved and its implications for legislative and judicial procedure in Nigeria.
