The Kogi Central Senator, Mrs. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan will challenge in court the six-month suspension slammed on her following her face-off with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio over alleged sexual harassment.
The legal counsel to the lawmaker, Barrister Victor Giwa dismissed the Senate resolution as a violation of a court order.
Giwa spoke with The PUNCH on Thursday after Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended by the Senate and walked out from the National Assembly complex.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and opposition parties similarly berated the Senate for not giving her ample time to present her sexual harassment complaint against Akpabio.
Giwa said the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges acted in violation of a court order that allegedly restrained it from taking further action on the matter pending the determination of a motion on notice.
‘The suspension is void, it cannot even take any effect. The suspension is illegal because there is a court order that restrained the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges from taking further action.
‘The committee disobeyed a valid court order that was served on them, making a mockery of the chamber that is supposed to uphold the law’, Giwa said.
He argued that if his client had not sought legal intervention, the suspension might have stood.
The lawyer also expressed conviction that, with a court order explicitly directing the Senate to halt disciplinary actions, the decision to suspend her was null and void.
Giwa further said that legal action would be taken against those responsible for violating the court’s directive.
‘We are going back to court. The case is coming up in about two weeks, and we will inform the court that despite being served, including the Senate President, they still acted in violation of the order by suspending the plaintiff’, he said.
On whether the matter would be escalated to international organisations, Giwa said: ‘For now, we are handling it locally. But, of course, the world is watching. The Senate must adhere to international best practices, which dictate that once a case is in court, no further action should be taken on it’.
He argued that the Nigerian Constitution supersedes the Senate Standing Orders, stating that every citizen had the right to seek redress in court when their civil rights are breached.
‘Section 6, subsection 6 of the Constitution grants every citizen the right to seek redress when their civil rights are violated. Senator Natasha has done exactly that. Her suspension is an attempt to silence her for alleging wrongdoing against the Senate President, which amounts to a breach of her right to a fair hearing’, he further said.
The Senate imposed a six-month suspension on the lawmaker without pay over what it called the breach of its Standing Orders following her claim of sexual harassment, an allegation that Akpabio denied.
In an earlier interview with Arise Television last Friday, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who made headlines the previous week after a public dispute with the Senate President over seating arrangements in the chamber, accused Akpabio of making sexual advances towards her.
Her sexual harassment complaint was referred to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for disciplinary review, which later recommended her suspension.
The resolution of the Senate followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the committee during plenary on Thursday.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Neda Imasuen (Labour Party, Edo South) presented the report on the floor of the red chamber.
The report, signed by all 14 members of the committee, offered seven recommendations against Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The committee found her guilty of all allegations against her as she did not attend the investigative hearing to defend herself.
In its recommendations, it proposed that she might have the six-month suspension reduced only if she tenders a formal apology to the Senate President for her outburst during last week’s plenary session.
As part of the suspension, the legislator’s salary and security details will be withdraw and her office locked but her legislative aides would receive their remuneration throughout the period.
Meanwhile, the Senate rejected the Imasuen-led committee’s recommendation of an apology, saying such would only be entertained at the end of the six-month suspension.
The seven-point recommendations by Imasuen read: “One, that the Senate do suspend Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months for her total violation of Senate standing rules, bringing the presiding officer and the entire Senate to public opprobrium.
“Two, that for the Senate to consider lifting or reducing the duration of the suspension, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan shall submit a written apology to the Senate before reconsideration.
‘’Three, that the Senate suspend Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan with effect from March 6, 2025, from all legislative activities.
“Four, that her office be locked up for the duration of her suspension and that she hands over all Senate properties in her possession to the Clerk of the National Assembly.
“Five, that for the duration of her suspension, she must not be seen within the vicinity of the Senate or the National Assembly, including her staff.
“Six, that her salaries and allowances, including those of her legislative aides, be suspended, and that all security details assigned to her be withdrawn for the period of her suspension.
“Seven, that during her suspension, she be barred from representing herself locally and internationally as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
In his contribution, the Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno; Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro; and Senators Jimoh Ibrahim, Sunday Karimi, Francis Fadahunsi, Mohammed Dandutse, Cyril Fasuyi, and Adams Oshiomhole commended the committee for a job well done.
This is just as they condemned Akpoti-Uduaghan’s disobedience of the Senate rules, which in their opinion, brought the law-making body into disrepute.
They called for the enforcement of the sanctions, arguing that anything short of that would lay a dangerous precedent for the parliament.
On his part, Senator Orji Kalu (APC, Abia North) sought the protection of the aides of the embattled lawmaker as he called for the amendment of the prayer concerning them.
Kalu said: ‘We cannot punish the aides of Senator Natasha for an offence they did not commit. They are staff of the National Assembly and they have no other farm or means of livelihood apart from the salaries they earn from the Senate.
‘As such, it would be wrong for us as a Senate to deny them and their families their salaries. I move that we should please amend that recommendation and allow them to earn their salaries’.
The Senate agreed with Kalu’s suggestion and saved the embattled Senator’s aides from losing their salaries for six months.
In a debate featuring lawmakers elected on the platforms of different political parties, the Senate adopted all the recommendations, albeit with an amendment to prayer six, allowing the Kogi lawmaker’s aide to draw their salaries and allowances during the suspension period.
Effort by a former Senate President Ahmad Lawan to stop the red chamber from withdrawing the security aides of the suspended senator failed as the Senate President rejected it.
After the adoption of the report, Akpoti-Uduaghan briefly interrupted the proceedings.
She said: ‘This injustice against me will not be sustained. I will fight against it’.
She was, thereafter, escorted out of the chamber by the Sergeant-At-Arms personnel in the chamber.
She rebuffed efforts by journalists to speak with her as she drove away in her black Sports Utility Vehicle.
Earlier before her suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan had resubmitted a sexual harassment petition against Akpabio during plenary, this time, on behalf of her constituents, led by one Zubairu Yakubu.
After confirming there were no legal barriers, Akpabio directed her to lay the petition before the Senate.
Her petition was then referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, chaired by Imasuen with a mandate to report back within four weeks.
Meanwhile, Akpabio has disclosed that he slept in a hotel located within the premises of the Dangote Cement factory in Obajana, Kogi State when Akpoti-Uduaghan wedded her heartthrob, Mr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.
He said: ‘The person we are talking about here is the wife of my very good friend, or so I thought. I slept in Dangote Cement Factory in Obajana, Kogi State on the night of Senator Natasha’s wedding because the Kogi airport lights were in a poor state’.
The former governor disclosed that as the Senate President, his responsibility is to protect the institution, relying on the rules.
‘The rules give me the power to give a ruling on points of order. I’m in the best position to interpret the rules of the Senate’, he added.
Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele denied threatening Akpoti-Uduaghan during a midnight conversation with her and challenged security agencies to investigate his claims.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s colleague from Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Sunday Karimi also apologised to Akpabio for backing her for a leadership role.
The Senate, thereafter, warned the suspended senator to stop violating the Senate Standing Rules.
Monguno gave the warning after reporting to the Senate that the embattled lawmaker had persistently refused to stand to her feet anytime the Senate President led the procession to commence the day’s plenary in clear violation of the Senate Standing Orders 55(1).
He said that Akpoti-Uduaghan cannot hide under a session of the rules to air her opinions and at the same time disregard other provisions in the Standing Orders.
‘Senator Natasha has been consistently and persistently in breach of this rule. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. We urge her to study the rules and comply in observance and not in breach’, Monguno said.
However, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension has continued to reverberate across the polity with the NBA, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi expressing displeasure over the handling of the case.
The Chairperson of the NBA Women Forum, Barrister Huwaila Muhammad queried the manner in which the matter was handled.
She said that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension, which is a build up on the dispute between her and Akpabio, might not have been the right decision to take in the interest of justice.
Stressing that in the interest of justice, she deserved fair hearing before such decision should have been taken.
She said: ‘To start with I will say on the suspension, we are all lawyers and would like to see fairness across board. We know the allegation is very big and he who asserts must prove so we will want her to prove the allegations and we expect fairness in it.
‘I see her suspension as a kind of intimidation; you cannot be a judge in your own court. If something affects you, slide by the side and let justice take its course because we need to see fairness.
‘’We as citizens we would like to see a fair level ground for everybody. She is alleging and proving and peradventure she is unable to prove what she has alleged, she knows what would come to her. We are in a democracy, suspension is not the answer’.
Muhammad further said: ‘The question here is: Did the committee call her before suspending her? Did she refuse to come? Did she send a representation? If she was not called then what was the yard stick used in suspending her and if she was called and she refused to go that will be very wrong of her because she was called to prove her innocence and her refusing to honour the invite will be wrong.
‘’Those who suspended her should know there are people out there watching and we all want justice because as far as we are concerned, the Senate is a sacred place and what is happening right now should not be happening.’
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Itsey Sagay argued that, since the matter was already before a court of law, it should have been left for the courts to decide.
‘The matter is in court as I know and I’m surprised they didn’t leave it at that stage. I feel very sympathetic towards her because in an assembly full of men there’s a tendency towards self-defence but the men rather than looking at the matter objectively, they didn’t’.
