Alex Enumah in Abuja 

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed a new date for judgment in the suit filed by the Kogi Central Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, challenging her suspension from the National Assembly.

The court had, on May 13, fixed June 27 for judgment in the suit seeking to nullify her suspension for being illegal and unlawful.

However, less than 24 hours to the June 27 date for judgment, a notice of a new date of July 4, has been sent to lawyers representing parties in the suit.

No reason was however given for the change in the date.

After taking arguments from lawyers representing parties in the suit, Justice Nyako had announced that judgment would be delivered on June 27.

While the Kogi senator is the sole plaintiff in the suit, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Nedamwen Imasuen, are first to fourth respondents respectively.

The Senate had on March 5, suspended the senator representing Kogi Central District at the National Assembly for six months, for allegedly breaching the rules of the Senate, after she refused to relocate to the new seat allocated to her in the red chamber.

Besides her refusal to vacate her former seat for the new allottee, the senator had engaged in an argument with the Senate President, as well as laying allegations of sexual harassment against Akpabio.

Displeased with the decision of the leadership of the upper house, Akpoti-Uduaghan had approached the court to declare her suspension unlawful and illegal.

Besides, she brought an application seeking the committal of Akpabio to jail for violating an order of the court issued on March 4, restraining the leadership of the Senate from taking any action against her until the hearing of the substantive suit.

In his final submission, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Michael Numan (SAN), urged the court to grant his client’s relief by reversing the Senate Committee’s decision. 

He also counters allegations of contempt of court. 

Meanwhile, the respondents challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter. 

‎They further urged the court to dismiss the case instituted by the suspended Kogi Central Senator for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

‎After taking arguments from all parties in the matter, Justice Nyako announced that judgment had been fixed for June 27.

The judge held that her verdict will be delivered alongside two applications bordering on disobedience of the orders of the court by parties.

While the Clerk of the National Assembly and Akpabio, who are both first and third respondents respectively, had accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of disobeying the orders of the court which had barred parties from speaking with the media, the suspended senator argued that the respondents violated the March 4 orders of the court, when they went ahead to suspend her for six months.

Akpoti-Uduaghan also claimed that two senior lawyers, Chief Olisa Agbakoba and Monday Ubani, had commented on the subject matter before the court on the media.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had already spent two months and eight days outside the Senate and will spend another one month and 14 days, before judgment on June 27, making a total of three months and 21 days outside the Senate.

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