THE Nigerian Senate has suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, despite an interim order from a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the Senate from investigating her recent actions.
The court, presided over by Obiora Egwuatu, had on March 5 issued an injunction stopping the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with its probe.
The ruling followed an ex parte application filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team.
However, the Senate went ahead with the investigation and, based on the committee’s findings presented by Neda Imasuen, voted to suspend the Kogi Central lawmaker for violating Senate rules.
The suspension, expected to take effect from March 6, means that the female lawmaker will be barred from accessing the National Assembly premises and her office will be locked.
The punishment also extended to her salaries and those of her legislative aides being withheld for the duration of the suspension.
The Senate further ruled that Akpoti-Uduaghan will not be allowed to represent Nigeria in any official capacity while serving the suspension.
The committee noted that she might submit a written apology, which could lead to a review of the suspension.
The decision followed deliberations on the committee’s recommendations, presented by Imasuen, which found that the suspended lawmaker’s actions amounted to a total breach of Senate rules.
Background
The crisis began on February 20, when Akpoti-Uduaghan protested a reassignment of her Senate seat without prior notice.
She resisted the change, calling it an attempt to silence her, while Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, justified the move, citing Senate rules and party affiliations.
Her protest led to a heated exchange with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove her from the chamber.
This led to the Senate unanimously referring her to the Ethics Committee for disciplinary review, which later recommended her suspension.
Amid the dispute, in an interview on Arise Television, she accused Akpabio of making repeated sexual advances toward her, which she said she rejected.
She alleged that her refusal was the reason behind their frequent clashes at plenary sessions.
According to her, some of Akpabio’s love proposals were made with her on the phone and face-to-face in her husband’s presence. She further alleged that she had all the evidence for her claims.
Although the Kogi senator, on Wednesday, March 5, submitted an official petition regarding the sexual harassment and abuse of office by Akpabio, the Ethics Committee threw out the petition, citing key procedural oversights that allegedly undermined the petition’s legitimacy.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, however, resubmitted the petition, shortly before her suspension.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M