BREAKING: Court Orders Senate To Recall Suspended Natasha

BREAKING: Court Orders Senate To Recall Suspended Natasha

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that the Nigerian Senate exceeded its authority by suspending Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, ordering her immediate reinstatement to the Red Chamber.

Delivering the judgment on Friday, Justice Binta Nyako described the suspension as “excessive” and lacking a solid legal basis.

The court held that neither Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Orders nor Section 14 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, cited by the Senate specify a maximum duration for suspensions, making the Senate’s action in this instance an overreach.

Justice Nyako further emphasized that, since the National Assembly is constitutionally required to sit for just 181 days in a legislative year, suspending a senator for nearly the entire period amounts to disenfranchising the lawmaker’s constituents, an act the court deemed unconstitutional.

“While the Senate has the authority to discipline its members, such sanctions must not go so far as to deny constituents their right to representation,” Nyako ruled.

On another issue, however, the court ruled in favor of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, determining that his refusal to allow Akpoti-Uduaghan to speak during a plenary session—because she was not seated in her designated seat—did not infringe on her rights.

Nyako also dismissed Akpabio’s argument that the judiciary had no business interfering in what he called an “internal affair” of the legislature, stating that fundamental rights and representation are matters squarely within the court’s purview.

In a related development, the court fined Akpoti-Uduaghan millions of naira for violating an earlier order that restrained both parties from making public comments on the ongoing case.