Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has vowed to challenge the leadership of the Senate at the appellate court following her denied access to the National Assembly complex despite a subsisting court ruling ordering her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was barred from entering the National Assembly premises on Tuesday, described the Senate’s action as a violation of a Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako, which nullified her suspension.
Speaking to journalists, the lawmaker condemned the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, accusing him of undermining the judiciary and the Nigerian Constitution.
“Akpabio cannot be greater than the Nigerian Constitution. My legitimacy as a senator comes from the people of Kogi Central who elected me, not from the Senate President,” she said.
She added that she would consult her legal team to commence proceedings at the appellate court for interpretation and enforcement of the judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, accompanied by activist Aisha Yesufu, was blocked at the Assembly gate by security operatives amid heightened security presence, including multiple patrol vehicles and checkpoints. The standoff drew sharp criticism from Yesufu, who accused the police of acting as instruments of oppression and violating constitutional rights.
“Yesufu lambasted the officers, saying, ‘One day you’ll be on the streets begging the same citizens you are oppressing today to protest on your behalf,’” she said.
The Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, chaired by Yemi Adaramodu, earlier reiterated that the Senate would uphold its suspension of the senator, insisting that no legal directive had mandated her immediate recall.
However, Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that the suspension hindered her legislative duties, including sponsoring bills and motions, although she continued implementing constituency projects.
Her lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria West Idahosa, defended her position, stating that the court ruling validated her return to the Senate.
“She remains a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Idahosa asserted, adding that the ruling on attendance as a legislative act justified her return.
Nonetheless, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ken Harris, criticized Akpoti-Uduaghan’s move, describing it as an attempt to enforce a judgment she had already appealed against. He argued that her actions undermined legal procedure and accused her of seeking to enforce a ruling without fulfilling all its conditions, including a N5 million payment and public apology.
“In all my years of legal practice, I’ve never seen such a blatant display of lawlessness from a federal lawmaker,” Harris stated.
As the legal and political tension escalates, the Senate leadership has yet to issue an official statement on Tuesday’s confrontation, leaving the status of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s reinstatement unresolved.
