The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Senate to review Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension as senator representing Kogi Central.
Gatekeepers News reports that delivering the judgment on Friday, Justice Binta Nyako ruled that the suspension imposed on the senator was excessive and effectively deprived her constituents of legislative representation for most of the session.
The court noted that lawmakers are expected to sit for a minimum of 181 days per legislative year, and removing a senator for six months undermines this constitutional requirement.
Justice Nyako also criticised Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Rules and Section 14 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, labeling them as “overreaching” for failing to provide a clear limit on the duration of legislative suspensions.
While acknowledging that the Senate has the authority to discipline its members, the judge stressed that such actions must be fair, reasonable, and not infringe on the rights of citizens to be represented in parliament.
However, the court upheld Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s decision to deny Akpoti-Uduaghan the floor during plenary, stating that she was not in her designated seat at the time.
The court also rejected Akpabio’s claim that the matter was internal and outside judicial purview, affirming its jurisdiction to hear the case.
Additionally, it found Natasha guilty of contempt for violating the court order by publishing a satirical apology to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The court ruled that her April 7 post undermined its directive, which had barred all parties from making public comments about the ongoing case.
The judge ordered the senator to issue a formal apology to the court within seven days, both on her Facebook page and in two national newspapers, and also fined her N5 million.
