Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Nigerian Senate to immediately recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, from her suspension.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Nyako ruled that the six-month suspension imposed on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was excessive and unconstitutional. She held that the Senate acted beyond its powers by failing to specify the permissible duration for suspensions in its internal rules and relevant legislation.
The court specifically struck down parts of Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Rules and Section 14 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, stating that both were overreaching. According to Justice Nyako, these provisions do not set a clear limit on how long a serving lawmaker can be suspended, thereby opening the door to arbitrary and disproportionate penalties.
Justice Nyako emphasized that Nigerian lawmakers are constitutionally required to sit for a total of 181 days in a legislative calendar year. Suspending a senator for six months — effectively the full length of that sitting period — amounts to stripping their constituents of representation, which she ruled was unacceptable.
“The Senate has the authority to discipline its members, but such disciplinary actions must not go so far as to deny constituents their constitutional right to be represented,” she stated.
On another point raised during the proceedings, the court ruled that Senate President Godswill Akpabio did not violate any law by refusing Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan the chance to speak during plenary, as she was not seated in her officially designated seat at the time.
The judge also dismissed Akpabio’s argument that the judiciary lacked the jurisdiction to rule on the case, which he described as an internal legislative affair. Justice Nyako rejected this claim, asserting the court’s authority to intervene when constitutional rights are at stake.
