Senate Vs Akpoti-Uduaghan: Court To Rule On Natasha’s Suspension Next Month
Senate
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The months-long legal battle between the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the Red Chamber may soon be resolved barring any last-minute change.
This is as Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday set June 27 as the date to give a final judgment in the case.
The Kogi lawmaker had initiated the lawsuit against the national assembly following her suspension from the Senate.
She took the matter to court after the Senate’s ethics and disciplinary committee suspended her over claims of misconduct.
The committee’s decision came in the wake of the altercation between the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan over relocation of seats in the Red Chamber.
But Natasha believed the action was unfair and influenced by bias.
In her lawsuit, the Kogi lawmaker included the National Assembly, the Senate, the Senate President, and Senator Neda Imasuem, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, as the defendants.
The case was originally handled by Justice Obiorah Egwuatu, but he stepped down, and it was reassigned to Justice Binta Nyako.
When the case came up on Monday, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Jibrin Okutekpa, told the court that they had submitted all the documents they planned to use, as the court had earlier directed.
Lawyers for the Senate and the Senate President, Paul Daudu and Ekwo Ejembi, also said they had filed their documents.
However, they claimed that Akpoti-Uduaghan had flouted a court order by posting a satirical apology to the Senate President on her Facebook page on March 27 and publishing it in some newspapers.
“The plaintiff had responded to our motion,” the lawyers said, referring to the steps she took after being accused of contempt.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s other lawyer, Michael Numan, said they had received the motion accusing her of disobeying the court.
He also reminded the judge that they had filed a similar motion earlier, accusing the defendants of disobeying the court.
He said, “The alleged statement credited to the plaintiff had no connection with her,” and insisted that “the alleged contemptuous statement had no nexus with the plaintiff.”
