Isaac Samuel
Despite publicly declaring she would resume legislative duties on Tuesday, suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, failed to appear at Tuesday’s plenary which ended at about 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday’s plenary, which was presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the very figure at the centre of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations proceeded without incident.
Her no-show comes days after a Federal High Court in Abuja nullified her six-month suspension, describing it as unconstitutional and excessive, and ordered her immediate recall.
The court ruling had raised expectations of a confrontation between the senator and the Senate leadership, which has adopted a cautious approach, the need to first review the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment.
Security was visibly heightened around the National Assembly complex on Tuesday, perhaps in anticipation of her return.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had told her jubilant supporters in a video on social media that she would resume her legislative activities in the Red Chamber on Tuesday.
The senator also expressed gratitude to her constituents for standing by her, following the favourable court judgment that reaffirmed her position in the Senate.
She said, “I thank you for your support. I am glad we are victorious today. We shall resume in the Senate on Tuesday by the grace of God.”
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had, on Friday, nullified the six-month suspension slammed on Akpoti-Uduaghan by the Senate.
The court declared that the six-month suspension imposed on her was excessive, unconstitutional, and an infringement on the rights of her constituents and ordered that she be recalled from suspension.
It also fined her the sum of N5m for contempt of court over a Facebook post deemed to have violated an earlier court order.
Justice Binta Nyako, in a ruling which spanned multiple legal issues, held that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Facebook post, a satirical apology directed at Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, breached an interim injunction issued by the court on March 4, 2025.
That injunction had barred all parties from making public statements or social media posts related to the ongoing suit she filed to challenge her suspension.
But barely 24 hours after her threat to resume plenary, the upper legislative chamber said it would withhold any official action on the matter until it obtained and reviewed the CTC of the court’s pronouncement.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, said while its legal representatives were present in court, the full judgment was not read in open court.
Adaramodu added that they had filed a formal application to obtain the CTC for a clear understanding of the ruling and any specific orders made by the court.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months by the Senate in March after a rowdy plenary during which she accused Akpabio of sexual harassment.
The suspension had sparked outrage among various civil society groups and human rights organisations.
Akpoti-Uduaghan subsequently sued the Senate and its leadership, arguing that the action was a calculated attempt to silence her and disenfranchise her constituents.
In response to a satirical Facebook post dated April 27 – in which she offered what the court described as a “mock apology” to Akpabio, lawyers representing the Senate President filed a contempt application against her.
The lawyers claimed that the post was in defiance of the court’s gag order.
During proceedings, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team contended that the post was unrelated to the suspension case, insisting it concerned her allegations of misconduct against the Senate President.
Justice Nyako, however, disagreed, stating that the post was clearly linked to the matter before the court and, therefore, constituted a deliberate breach of the court’s directive.
The judge, having imposed a N5m fine on the senator, ordered her to issue a public apology within seven days.
The apology, she ruled, must be published in two national dailies and reposted on her Facebook page
