The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, slated June 27 to deliver judgement on the suit the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, filed to quash the six-month suspension that was slammed on her by the Senate.
Justice Binta Nyako okayed the matter for judgement, after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument.
Cited as defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, are Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, the Senate President, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, as well as and the Chairman of Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Senator Nedamwen Imasuen.
The embattled lawmaker, through her team of lawyers led by Mr. Jubril Okutekpa, SAN, urged the court to invalidate her suspension which she said was done in disobedience to a valid court order.
However, the defendants challenged the jurisdiction of the court to meddle in what they termed as an internal affair of the Senate.
More so, the defendants accused the plaintiff of breaching an order the court made on April 4, which gagged the parties from making public utterances on the matter pending before it.
The Senate President, Akpabio, through his lawyer, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, specifically drew the attention of the court to what he described as “a satirical apology” the plaintiff tendered to him on her Facebook page.
Akpabio insisted that the said apology made mockery of the order of the court.
Meanwhile, before she adjourned the matter for judgement, Justice Nyako said she would first consider the issue of contempt that was raised by the parties before deciding all the preliminary objections.
The trial judge stressed that Natasha’s suit raised “recondite issues of law” that would require judicial interpretation.
March 4 interim order
It will be recalled that Justice Nyako took over the matter following the recusal of the previous judge, Obiora Egwuatu, who had in a ruling on March 25, returned the case-file after the Senate President accused him of bias.
Justice Egwuatu had on March 4, issued an interim order that stopped the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions from going ahead with the disciplinary proceeding that was initiated against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan over an allegation that she flouted rules of the legislative house.
He held that the disciplinary process should be placed on hold, pending the determination of the suit that was brought before him by the embattled female lawmaker.
