The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has upheld the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan by the Senate, ruling that the upper legislative chamber acted within its lawful powers. The judgment was delivered on Monday in Abuja.
The appeal court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case against the Clerk of the National Assembly and three other parties. The court held that her suspension did not violate her constitutional rights or parliamentary privileges.
However, the court overturned the contempt charge and the five million naira fine earlier imposed on the senator. The fine was linked to a satirical apology she directed at the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Abba Muhammed, the court ruled that the Senate President acted in line with Senate rules when he prevented the senator from speaking during plenary on February 20, 2025. The court explained that Akpoti-Uduaghan was not seated in her officially assigned seat at the time.
The court further stated that the Senate President has the authority to reassign seats to lawmakers and that members are only allowed to speak from their designated seats. It added that the senator acted wrongly by refusing to move to the new seat allocated to her.
The judges also rejected her claim that she was entitled to prior notice before her seat was changed, noting that Senate rules do not require such notice.
In its decision, the court said the Federal High Court should not have taken up the case after discovering that the Senate acted within provisions allowing it to discipline members. It also noted that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s refusal to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Petitions and Privileges weakened her case.
The appeal court dismissed her argument that the suspension violated an earlier court order, explaining that the judge who issued that order had withdrawn from the case and the matter started afresh under another judge.
On the contempt issue, the court ruled that the trial court failed to properly serve required legal notices on the senator. This failure, the judges said, made the contempt proceedings invalid. As a result, the court set aside both the contempt ruling and the five million naira fine imposed on the Kogi senator.
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