Senator Natasha Vows to Challenge National Assembly in Higher Court Over Denial of Entry
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, has vowed to challenge the National Assembly’s refusal to allow her entry into the Senate chambers despite a subsisting court order in her favour.
On Tuesday, the senator arrived at the National Assembly complex intending to resume her legislative duties following a Federal High Court judgment which nullified her six-month suspension by the Senate.
However, security personnel stationed at the complex denied her access, prompting widespread public attention and condemnation.
The suspension, handed down earlier in the year, was voided by Justice Binta Nyako, who ruled that the decision to bar Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Senate was unconstitutional.
The judge’s ruling had effectively reinstated her to her position, but the senator claims the Senate leadership, under President Godswill Akpabio, has continued to defy the court’s order.
Speaking to reporters outside the gates of the National Assembly, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan described the action as a direct affront to the judiciary and the Nigerian Constitution.
“Akpabio cannot be greater than the Nigerian Constitution. I want Nigerians to know that the Office of the Senate President doesn’t give me legitimacy as a senator,” she said. “The fact that he has done an appeal does not invalidate the decision of Justice Binta Nyako, and that does not stop me from being a senator. I got my legitimacy from the people of Kogi who voted me into office.”
She added that the refusal to admit her into the Senate amounted to “contempt of court” and raised serious concerns about the state of Nigeria’s democracy.
“That I’ve been denied entrance to the National Assembly is a statement being made. It’s on record that the National Assembly under Akpabio has decided to be in contempt of a court decision, and it’s quite ironic that they are lawmakers,” she said. “That poses the question: how far is our democracy in this day and age?”
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan also questioned the basis of her initial suspension, describing it as “fraudulent” and based on a “faulty document.”
Looking ahead, the lawmaker announced that she would meet with her legal team to explore further judicial redress.
“Going forward, I will have a meeting with my legal team so they proceed to the appellate court to seek interpretation into what just happened. I’m a law-abiding citizen,” she concluded.
