The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and his gang in the Senate are determined to ensure that guiltless Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) is locked out of the Red Chamber for the entire 10th Senate. That was their secret vow after Natasha challenged the crooked system in this hopeless Akpabio-led Senate and got suspended for six months on March 6; they are determined to actualize this evil plan. The oppressors clearly demonstrated this on September 4, when they ordered the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, to write a letter rejecting Natasha’s request to resume legislative duties after her six-month suspension ended.
Danzaria, obviously being used by Akpabio and his gang, stated that Natasha’s suspension would remain pending the outcome of a Court of Appeal case instituted against the Senate by the Kogi Central Senator. “The matter remains sub judice, and until the judicial process is concluded, no administrative action can be taken to facilitate your resumption,” declared tactless Danzaria in his letter to Natasha.
This stance is preposterous. Recall that Natasha challenged her suspension in court and secured a judgement that approved her recall. Akpabio and his gang gave the judgement their own interpretation and physically stalled Natasha’s resumption. This is why she is at the Appeal Court. Now, the six-month suspension has elapsed. They are now saying her suspension must continue pending the outcome of the suit in the Court of Appeal. What nonsense!
Akpabio and his gang have become power-drunk. This stabbing of Natasha is a clear misuse of power and an assault on our democracy. By preventing Natasha from continuing after completing a six-month suspension, these hawks have decided to openly disrespect the laws of our land. They care less about legal precedents and moral obligations. For these guy, Natasha’s “rebellious” voice must be silenced.
The position of the opposition African Democratic Congress on the balderdash by Akpabio and his gang is apt. The ADC stated: “The tenure of that disciplinary action against Natasha has lapsed. Any further attempt to prevent her from resuming is therefore both illegal and morally indefensible. This is not about partisan politics. It is about a dangerous precedent being set within our legislative institutions, one that reduces democratic representation to the whims of a few individuals rather than the will of the electorate. It is about a political culture that appears more invested in punishing dissent than in upholding justice.”
ADC stated further: “We challenge the Akpabio and his colleagues to explain why a suspension that has run its course should be made indefinite by stealth. Several respected SANs have rightly observed that Natasha’s suspension, having fully lapsed, can no longer be used as a justification to deny her return. A pending legal appeal does not suspend constitutional rights, nor does it grant any official the power to override the mandate of the electorate. To continue barring her from office is, therefore, a violation of the constitution. The Senate, as the nation’s highest lawmaking body, must not be seen to violate the very laws it exists to uphold.”
I’m not sorry to say that the current Nigerian Senate is dominated by tyrants. The few honourable ones among them have been boxed into a corner and too weak to defend our laws as seen in this Natasha case. The oppressors, led by Akpabio, are dangerously lawless. They are lawmakers, yet, have no respect for the laws of our land. That was why they suspended Natasha for “flagrant disobedience of some sections of the Senate’s Standing Orders and her unparliamentary behaviour during some plenaries and proceedings.” All Gobbledygook!
Akpabio’s Senate also decreed that during the period of her suspension, Natasha won’t be paid her salaries and entitlements; and that she must not parade herself as a Senator during the period. It was absolute anarchy for the Senate’s Ethics Committee to have gone ahead with the “trial of Natasha” despite a restraining court order.
Notwithstanding several rulings by Nigerian courts that a lawmaker can’t be suspended, power-drunk Akpabio and his gang scornfully suspended Natasha. Of course, they are aware that a legislator is a representative of his constituency, whose membership is guaranteed by the Constitution and not by a legislative body or persons. So, Natasha’s membership can’t be suspended by the Senate. This was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in 2017, in the case of the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly Vs Honourable Rifkatu Danna.
Danna was suspended for berating the decision of the Bauchi State House of Assembly to relocate the headquarters of Bogoro LGA to Bununu from Tafawa Balewa. While voiding Danna’s suspension, the Appeal Court declared: “The conduct of the Bauchi Speaker and his supporters is the tyranny of the majority against an elected minority of the Bauchi State House of Assembly.”
The Court of Appeal ruled further that Danna “is not an employee of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, and can neither be suspended nor her entitlements withheld.” It declared that the House of Assembly “has no right” to interfere with the wages and allowances of any member of the House of Assembly. In addition, it said that the constituency Danna represented was robbed of meaningful democracy dividends during her suspension and immediately ordered her recall.
Danna’s case is just one of the several cases of lawmakers’ suspensions that were voided by Nigerian courts and declared unconstitutional. I need to also remind Akpabio and his gang of the case of Senator Ali Ndume. When the Bukola Saraki-led Senate suspended him over a petition against Saraki, Ndume went to court. Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Federal High Court, Abuja voided the suspension, ruling that the Senate “has no such power.”
Justice Quadri declared: “The suspension of Ndume is in violation of Sections 68 and 69 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act CAP A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.” The judge consequently ordered the Senate to pay Ndume all his withdrawn wages and allowances.
Akpabio and his imprudent gang are aware of these judgements voiding suspension of lawmakers but care less. They are on a mission to bully Natasha into submission. The defence of the suspension is utterly stupid. They are saying that the suspension was “a response to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s repeated violations of legislative decorum.” So, how did “refusing to sit in her assigned seat during plenary on 25th February 2025, despite multiple pleas from the Minority Leader and other ranking Senators” amount to an act of open defiance and disorderly conduct? These guys must be high on something. Only God knows what it is.
They also said Natasha spoke “without being recognized by the presiding officer, in clear violation of parliamentary practices and procedures on 25th February 2025” and that she was “engaging in unruly and disruptive behavior, obstructing the orderly conduct of Senate proceedings, and making abusive and disrespectful remarks against the leadership of the Senate.” So, these should warrant six months suspension? Haba! In other climes, we see legislators exchange blows in the legislature and life goes on. Natasha, despite her legislative immunity, did not even slap Akpabio, and they are throwing these huge stones at her.
How can a legislator be punished for “speaking without permission” in the legislature? Punishing her for peacefully expressing herself? Outrageous! It is an infringement of her rights to free speech, more so, in the parliament, a body that should be seen protecting human rights. Any application of the Senate Standing Orders must conform with the Constitution of Nigeria. Any part of the rules that contradicts the Nigerian Constitution, in this case, human rights/freedom of expression, is a nullity. This is the law.
Besides, citizens exercise political power either directly or through elected representatives. Residents of her Kogi Central elected Natasha for this purpose in the Senate. Her illegitimate suspension has now excluded residents of Kogi Central from participating in government at the Senate level. The Nigerian Senate has no such power to do so.
Natasha must be immediately recalled, with a letter of apology to the people of Kogi Central by Akpabio and his gang. This is the only way forward for the Senate. Kudos to Natasha for her firmness. Nigeria needs more of Natasha to rejig this country.
Adebowale can be reached via [email protected]; 08054699539 (text only)
