Senate Gains Millage Over Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan As Court Reverses Itself
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has reversed its earlier order restraining the Nigerian Senate from investigating embattled Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is presently on a six-month suspension for unruly behaviour against the leadership of the Upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly.
The reversal of the interim order earlier granted by the Court has not placed the Senate in a proper stead in marching towards victory in an ongoing power and vicious struggle.
The Court presided over by Justice Obiora Egwuatu nullified its earlier exparte order which temporarily shielded suspended Akpoti-Natasha from facing the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
The Senate had gone ahead with its investigation despite the earlier Court order, saying that an arm of government cannot prevent another arm from carrying out its constitutional duties.
Accordingly, the Senate based on the report of its committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, slammed Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan with suspension on March 6, 2025 Crisis for the embattled Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan started on February 20, 2025, following an altercation she had with the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio over seat allocation during plenary session.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s conduct was considered inappropriate, undistinguished and disorderly, a development that prompted the leadership of the Senate to refer her to its Ethics committee.
Curiously, instead of her to defend herself before the committee, Akpoti-Uduaghan opted for legal intervention, securing a court order on March 4 to stop her probe. However, in a bold show of legislative autonomy, the Senate ignored the order and moved ahead with its disciplinary process which culminated in her suspension.
Faced with arguments that the exparte order had preemptively decided the case, Justice Egwuatu reversed his course of action on March 19, 2025 thereby effectively reaffirming the Senate’s constitutional authority to discipline its members.
The latest decision of the Court has created different shade of opinion in the legal circle as some are of the view the reversal of the decision by the Court was a necessary correction by the judiciary while others view it as an attempt to avoid an institutional clash with the legislature.
Speaking on the development, a constitutional Lawyer, Mr Nnamdi Okeke said; “This ruling signals a recognition that the Senate has the right to manage its internal affairs. But the bigger question is whether the courts should have stepped in at all”.
However, the legal battle is far from over as the case has been adjourned to March 25, 2025, for further hearings on pending objections and applications.
Whichever way one looks at it, the Senate has recorded a millage just as it has asserted its dominance with the stepping back on the matter by the judiciary.
