The suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has stated that she will resume legislative duties in the Senate on Tuesday following a court order directing her recall to the Red Chamber.
The lawmaker disclosed this in a video shared on social media, which started trending on Sunday. She thanked her supporters for standing with her.
Her comment followed Friday’s judgment by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which declared her six-month suspension from the Senate as unconstitutional, excessive, and a violation of her constituents’ rights to representation.
Justice Binta Nyako, who presided over the matter, ruled that the suspension lacked constitutional backing and ordered the immediate reinstatement of Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The court, however, also found the senator guilty of contempt for a Facebook post described as a satirical apology addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The post, the court held, violated an interim injunction issued on March 4, 2025, barring parties from making public or social media comments on the ongoing suit challenging her suspension.
Justice Nyako imposed a ₦5 million fine on the senator for the post, which was deemed to have breached the court’s order.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended by the Senate in March after a controversial plenary session that turned rowdy over disagreements about seating arrangements in the chamber.
Days later, the controversy deepened when she accused Senate President Akpabio of sexual harassment during a live television interview
In her ruling, Justice Nyako emphasised that the extended suspension of the senator was not only procedurally flawed but also deprived the people of Kogi Central of their constitutional right to representation.
She stated that lawmakers are required by the constitution to attend at least 181 sitting days in a legislative year and warned that long suspensions without due process undermine democratic governance.
The court also criticised the Senate’s disciplinary processes, urging the National Assembly to review its internal rules to conform with constitutional principles and ensure fair hearing.
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