In a dramatic legal twist following her six-month suspension from the Senate, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has fired back with a contempt charge against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other top parliamentary figures.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who has consistently maintained that her suspension was illegal, cited the Senate President, the Clerk of the National Assembly, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, Senator Neda Imasuem, as contemnors in a suit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to the embattled senator, her suspension blatantly defied a subsisting court order issued on March 4. The court, in a notice of disobedience of a court order (Form 48), warned that Akpabio, Imasuem, and the Clerk of the National Assembly could face imprisonment if found guilty of contempt. The document, signed by the court’s Registrar under Section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act 2004, stressed that the defendants had “deliberately and contumaciously disregarded” the court’s directive.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu had earlier granted an interim injunction restraining the Senate Committee from proceeding with its investigation into Akpoti-Uduaghan’s alleged misconduct linked to events that unfolded during the February 20 plenary session. The order was reportedly served on the defendants on March 5, yet they went ahead with actions deemed to be in “flagrant defiance” of the judiciary’s authority.
The court’s directive had specifically instructed the defendants to show cause why an interlocutory injunction should not be issued to prevent them from taking further steps against Akpoti-Uduaghan. It also warned that any action taken against her during the pendency of the suit would be deemed “null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.”
Furthermore, Justice Egwuatu permitted the senator to serve court processes through substituted means, including by handing them to the Clerk of the National Assembly, pasting them at the National Assembly premises, or publishing them in two national dailies.
In a counteroffensive, Senate President Akpabio has questioned the court’s jurisdiction over what he describes as an internal legislative matter. His legal team argues that the judiciary has no authority to interfere in the Senate’s disciplinary proceedings, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle between the legislature and the judiciary.
With both sides digging in, all eyes are now on the Federal High Court, which has adjourned the case to March 25 for further proceedings. The outcome could have significant implications for legislative independence, judicial authority, and the limits of parliamentary power in Nigeria.
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