The country’s upper legislative chamber can’t arrogate to itself the power it clearly does not have. Its duty is to make law, not violate it
We may not be hearing the last of the imbroglio between the embattled senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the Nigerian Senate anytime soon. Recall that the Senator was suspended by the nation’s upper legislative chamber in March following her allegation of victimisation against the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio.
In an explosive interview on Arise TV in February she alleged that she was being persecuted and treated unfairly by the Senate president because she rejected his sexual advances. Her allegations followed a public spat between the duo which was occasioned by a seat arrangement row in the Senate days earlier. The incident has since sparked a chain of events that raises questions about the state of our democracy and the rule of law.
Natasha had since headed to court to challenge her suspension by the Senate. On July 4, the Federal High Court ruled that the suspension of Natasha was “excessive” and illegal, ordering her immediate reinstatement by the statement. But despite the court ruling, the Senate refuses to recall Senator Natasha. She was blocked from entering the red chamber and resuming legislative duties on her return to the Senate.
On September 4, Senator Natasha completed her six-month suspension. One would have expected that the road should now be cleared and the hurdle in her path removed for her return to the senate, having served out her suspension, but that is not to be, opening another episode in the long-drawn saga.
The National Assembly acting clerk, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, in a letter dated September 4, 2025, acknowledged Akpoti-Uduaghan’s notification of her intended return on September 4, the date she claimed marked the end of her suspension. According to the Senate, Natasha’s six-month suspension subsists pending the outcome of a Court of Appeal case instituted against the Senate by Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The new position of the Senate should trouble anyone who truly cares about the country and wants it to succeed. It is interesting that the same Senate that ignored a competent jurisdiction order to reinstate the state, saying the court cannot interfere in matters of the legislative, is now citing a pending court hearing as a reason why Natasha cannot resume after her six-month suspension has elapsed.
What these points point to is that there is more to the matter than meets the eye. The Senate can’t pick and choose when and when not to adhere to court pronouncements. The country’s upper legislative chamber can’t arrogate to itself the power it clearly does not have. Its duty is to make law, not violate it. If its position is that Natasha cannot be allowed to resume because of an appeal filed before the appellate court challenging the ruling of the lower court which favours the Senator, what then happens if the Appeal Court upholds the judgement of the High Court, will the Senate leadership disobey the verdict and continue to deny Natasha the opportunity to represent her people?
The most worrisome aspect of this imbroglio is the troubling disregard for her constituents, who are exceedingly affected by her suspension, and with the Senate’s unyielding stance on the matter, her senatorial district will likely not have a representative in the Senate anytime soon. The latest position of the Senate shows that the matter is no longer about punishing a senator over a ruckus during plenary but a reaction to something deeper and outside public knowledge. Whatever the case may be, the Senate must not become home to impunity, it must not become an enclave where rule of men trumps the rule of law.
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