Appeal Court agrees with Senate on Natasha’s suspension

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has held that the Senate acted within its powers when it suspended the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for misconduct.

In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court said it was satisfied that neither the Appellant’s parliamentary privilege nor her constitutional rights were breached as a result of her suspension from the Senate.

The court however vacated the contempt proceeding and N5 million fine that were awarded against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan over the satirical apology she made to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

In its lead judgment delivered by Justice Abba Muhammed, the appellate court held that the Senate President was not wrong to have denied the her, who was not on the official seat that was allotted to her during plenary on February 20th 2025, the opportunity to speak.

It held that the Senate President is empowered by the Rules to allocate seats to members, adding that lawmakers are only allowed to speak from seats allocated to them.