Following a standoff with National Assembly security, Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan vowed on Tuesday to meet with her legal team to pursue action at the Court of Appeal after she was denied access to the National Assembly.
Persecondnews reports that the senator, who was suspended from the Senate for six months earlier this year, has vowed to resume her legislative duties following a ruling by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, which quashed her suspension.
However, in a dramatic turn of events, she was met with a barricade upon arrival at the National Assembly complex on Tuesday morning.
Speaking to newsmen after the incident, Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed outrage at what she described as contempt of court by the Senate under President Godswill Akpabio.
She said: “Akpabio cannot be greater than the Nigerian Constitution. I want Nigerians to know that the Office of the Senate President does not give me legitimacy as a senator.
“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 as a senator from the people of Kogi who voted me into office as senator.
“That I have been denied entrance to the National Assembly is a statement being made. It is on record that the National Assembly under Akpabio has decided to be in contempt of a court decision, and it is quite ironic that they are lawmakers. That poses the question: how far is our democracy in this day and age?”
Akpoti-Uduaghan also questioned the basis of her initial suspension, stating, “Even the suspension ab initio was fraudulent—the document was faulty.”
On her next line of action, she said: “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 am a law-abiding citizen.”
Speaking during the standoff, activist Aisha Yesufu, who accompanied the embattled lawmaker to the National Assembly, said: “National Assembly is meant to be for everyone. Why are you stopping us? We are abiding citizens does not mean we are cowards.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Senate leadership is yet to issue a statement on Tuesday’s development.
Persecondnews recalls that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended by the Senate in March after a controversial plenary session that turned rowdy over disagreements about seating arrangements in the chamber.
Challenging the Senate’s decision, the lawmaker, through an ex-parte motion, urged the court to declare any actions taken by the committee – including her suspension – null, void and of no effect, pending the determination of her suit.
Ruling on the case, Justice Nyako held on July 4 that the suspension lacked constitutional backing and ordered her immediate reinstatement.
The court, however, also found the senator guilty of contempt for a Facebook post described as a satirical apology addressed to Akpabio.
The post, the court held, violated an interim injunction issued on March 4, 2025, barring parties from making public or social media comments on the ongoing suit challenging her suspension.
Nyako imposed a N5 million fine on the senator for the post, which was deemed to have breached the court’s order.
In her ruling, Justice Nyako said the extended suspension of the senator was not only procedurally flawed but also deprived the people of Kogi Central of their constitutional right to representation.
She pointed out that lawmakers are required by the constitution to attend at least 181 sitting days in a legislative year and warned that long suspensions without due process undermine democratic governance.
The court also criticised the Senate’s disciplinary processes, urging the National Assembly to review its internal rules to conform with constitutional principles and ensure fair hearing.
Meanwhile, Akpabio has appealed the Federal High Court’s decision ordering Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall on July 14, 2025, at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, aiming to overturn Justice Nyako’s ruling.
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