A High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to halt any move to declare the seat of Senator Godswill Akpabio vacant.

Akpabio was the Senate Minority Leader.

He resigned from his post recently when he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Following his defection, there has been insinuations that Saraki was planning to declare his seat vacant having left his former party.

In a swift reaction, Akpabio had said that all the legislators who defected to the PDP from the APC, including Saraki, would have to be sacked before he could be removed.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, Justice Othman Musa, cautioned Saraki not to take any action against Akpabio that would impinge on his privileges and rights as a Senator pending the determination of the originating summons of the applicant.

The order by the court followed an ex parte application by Akpabio’s lawyers, Chikaosolu Ojukwu and Ebere Ahanonu, to that effect.

The lawyers sought the order of the court to stop moves to declare his seat vacant following his defection.

The suit has been adjourned till August 29.