By Kolawole Ojebisi
There was a twist to the legal tussle initiated by the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, to press home her case, on Tuesday.
This is as Obiora Egwuatu, a judge at the federal high court in Abuja announced his recusal from the suit filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan
Egwuatu cited reported allegations of bias levelled against him by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, for his decision.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had filed the suit to stop the senate committee on ethics and public petitions from instituting disciplinary proceedings against her.
On March 4, the judge had issued an order restraining the senate from commencing disciplinary proceedings against Akpoti-Uduaghan following an ex parte application filed by counsels to the senator.
However, on Tuesday, the judge announced his decision to recuse himself from the case after taking the appearance of lawyers for the parties in the suit.
Egwuatu ordered that the case file be transferred to John Tsoho, the chief judge of the federal high court, for reassignment.
The defendants in the application are the clerk of the national assembly, the senate, senate president, and the chairman of the senate committee on ethics.
Prior to Egwuatu’s decision on Tuesday, he had ruled that the defendants should come and give reasons within 72 hours, upon the service of the order, why an interlocutory injunction should not be issued against them.
Meanwhile, forty-eight hours after the judgment, the senate proceeded to suspend the Kogi senator for six months.
The decision followed the adoption of the report by the committee. The red chamber had also approved that her office should be locked, and she must hand over all senate properties in her possession to the clerk of the national assembly for the duration of the suspension.
On March 19, Egwuatu vacated his March 4 order restraining the senate from suspending the Kogi senator.
