Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Files Contempt Case Against Akpabio Over Suspension

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has filed a contempt application against Senate President Godswill Akpabio over her recent suspension from the upper legislative chamber.

The legal action follows a March 4 ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which restrained the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from conducting disciplinary proceedings against Akpoti-Uduaghan. Justice Obiora Egwuatu granted the order after an ex parte application was filed by the senator’s legal team.

However, despite the court order, the Senate proceeded to suspend Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months on March 6, citing alleged misconduct. The decision, approved by the Senate following a report from the Ethics and Privileges Committee, also mandated that her office be locked and that she return all Senate properties in her possession to the clerk of the National Assembly for the duration of the suspension.

The disciplinary action stemmed from a February 20 incident where Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly disrupted plenary by rejecting her assigned seat, defying Akpabio’s orders, and repeatedly raising a point of order after being overruled. The committee, chaired by Senator Neda Imasuen (Edo South), subsequently initiated proceedings that led to her suspension.

In her contempt application, Akpoti-Uduaghan named Akpabio, Imasuen, and the clerk of the National Assembly as respondents, arguing that their actions directly violated the court’s restraining order.

She accused them of “deliberately and contumaciously disregarding” the court’s directive, insisting that her suspension was unlawful.

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In a notice of disobedience of a court order, signed by the court registrar, the respondents were warned that their actions could result in their committal to prison for contempt of court.

The case marks a significant legal challenge against the Senate’s disciplinary process, with implications for parliamentary authority and judicial oversight in Nigeria’s legislative affairs.