Court orders Natasha’s recall to senate, fines her N5m for contempt
A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the Senate to recall the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Natasha was suspended in March for six months by the Senate for alleged gross misconduct, days after a face-off with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over a sitting arrangement in the chambers during plenary.
She consequently accused Akpabio of making sexual advances at her and later petitioned the United Nations over the issue.
In a ruling on Friday, Justice Binta Nyako described as “excessive”, the six-month suspension that was slammed on the lawmaker by the Senate.
The court faulted the provision of Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Rules as well as section 14 of the Legislative Houses, Powers & Privileges Act, declaring both as overreaching.
The court stressed that the two legislations failed to specify the maximum period that a serving lawmaker could be suspended from office.
According to the court, since lawmakers have a total of 181 days to sit in every legislative circle, suspending a lawmaker for roughly that same length of time effectively silences the voice of an entire constituency.
“While the Senate has the authority to discipline its members, such sanctions must not go so far as to deny constituents their right to representation,” Nyako ruled.
Meanwhile, Justice Binta Nyako declared that Akpoti-Uduaghan went against its order by publishing a satirical apology to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
It held that the said apology, which she published on her Facebook page on April 7, made a mockery of a gag order that was placed on the parties by the court.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s counsel argued that the post was not connected to the court’s order concerning her suspension, but rather referred to a separate issue involving sexual harassment allegations against the third respondent (Akpabio).
Justice Nyako, however, held that after reviewing the post and the application before her instituted by the third respondent, she was satisfied that it was linked to the suspension matter before the court and therefore found the plaintiff guilty of contempt.
The court subsequently ordered Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to publish an apology within seven days in two national dailies and on her Facebook page.
The court equally ordered her to pay a N5 million fine, stressing that her contempt was in a civil proceeding.
Even though the court decision followed a contempt action that Senator Akpabio initiated, the court declined to issue any order in his favour.
