Supporters of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan gathered on Tuesday to celebrate the unsealing of her National Assembly office after a six-month suspension.
The crowd, which had earlier accompanied her from the FCT High Court where she faced a Federal Government defamation suit filed on behalf of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, marched towards the Assembly complex in jubilation.
Officials reopened her office in Suite 2.05 of the Senate Wing earlier in the day. The action, carried out by Deputy Director of the Sergeant-at-Arms, Alabi Adedeji, may clear the way for the Kogi Central Senator’s return when plenary resumes on October 7.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s office had been locked since her suspension in March over alleged violations of Senate rules, a decision widely criticised by civil society groups and opposition figures.
Although she completed her suspension in September and wrote to the Senate expressing readiness to resume, lawmakers insisted the matter remained before the Court of Appeal. They maintained that no further action would be taken until the judicial process concluded.