Hot SourceSunday Aborisade in Abuja
The suspended Kogi Central Senatorial District representative in the National Assembly, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has told her jubilant supporters in a video trending on social media, that she would resume her legislative activities in the red chamber on Tuesday this week.
She expressed gratitude to her supporters following a favorable 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 has on Friday fined Akpoti-Uduaghan the sum of ₦5 million after finding her guilty of contempt of court over a Facebook post deemed to have violated an earlier court order.
The court also nullified her six-month suspension from the Senate, declaring it excessive, unconstitutional, and an infringement on the rights of her constituents.
Justice Binta Nyako, in a ruling that spanned multiple legal issues, held that Senator 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 relating to the ongoing suit she filed challenging her suspension.
The embattled senator was suspended by the Senate in March after a rowdy plenary during which she accused Akpabio of sexual harassment.
The suspension, which was slated to last six months, sparked outrage across 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 personal allegations of misconduct by 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.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Nyako imposed a ₦5 million fine on the senator and ordered her to issue a public apology within seven days.
The apology must be published in two national dailies and reposted on her Facebook page.
In a separate but related decision, the court struck down the Senate’s six-month suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing it as ultra vires and lacking constitutional backing.
The judge ordered her immediate recall to the Red Chamber and criticized the Senate’s disciplinary procedures, urging the National Assembly to review its internal rules to ensure they align with democratic principles and constitutional guarantees.
Justice Nyako stressed that elected lawmakers are constitutionally required to attend no fewer than 161 sitting days in a legislative year and that the prolonged suspension effectively denied the people of Kogi Central their right to representation.
The ruling has elicited mixed reactions.
Supporters of the senator hailed the decision as a victory for democracy, transparency, and gender rights.
Meanwhile, legal analysts say the verdict sets an important precedent for how courts may intervene in legislative affairs, particularly in cases involving fundamental rights.
At the time of filing this report, the Senate leadership was yet to officially comment on whether it would appeal the ruling.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is also facing a separate criminal defamation trial, which has been adjourned to September 23.
