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The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday upheld the Senate’s power to suspend the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, over misconduct in March last year.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of judges ruled that neither Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s parliamentary privileges nor her constitutional rights were violated by the suspension.
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The court, however, vacated the N5 million fine imposed on her for civil contempt and set aside the entire contempt proceedings initiated against her following a satirical apology she made to Senate President Godswill Akpabio in a social media post.
In the lead lead judgement delivered by Abba Muhammed, the Court of Appeal held that the senate president acted within his authority when he denied Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan the opportunity to speak during plenary on 20 February 2025, noting that she was not in the official seat allocated to her.
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The court noted that the senate president was empowered by chamber rules to assign seats to lawmakers and that members may speak only from their designated positions.
Background
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended following a dispute with Mr Akpabio during Senate proceedings on 20 February 2025 over the seat allocated to her in the chamber.
On 6 March 2025, the Senate adopted a report by its Ethics Committee and suspended her for six months, citing misconduct and violation of Standing Orders.
The suspension barred her from performing her duties, sealed her office, and withheld her salaries and allowances. She was eligible to return earlier only if she submitted a written apology, which she refused.
Meanwhile, before the Senate handed down its decision to sanction her, she had filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the disciplinary proceedings.
After she she was suspended, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan urged the court to set aside the disciplinary proceedings including the suspension. She described the Senate’s action as punitive, unconstitutional, and linked to an earlier sexual harassment petition she had filed against Mr Akpabio, which he denied.
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About four months later, the court ruled that the suspension was excessive and ordered her recall, but stopped short of mandating her reinstatement. The judge, Binta Nyako, also fined her N5 million for contempt over a social media post made while the suit was ongoing and directed her to issue a public apology.
Due to the controversial nature of the verdict, oth Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan and Mr Akpabio subsequently filed appeals to contest various aspects of the ruling.
Meanwhile, the Senate did not immediately reinstate her, arguing that the court had not ordered such action and that the matter remained under litigation.
When the six-month suspension ended on 4 September 2025, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan notified the National Assembly of her intention to resume. The Senate initially refused, citing the ongoing court proceedings.
The furore ended on 23 September 2025, when officials unsealed her office, which had remained closed since March. But the legal actions continued. Monday’s judgement will likely set off the next phase of appeals at the Supreme Court.
