IF YOU didn’t hear about the abrupt suspension of the Senator representing the Kogi State Central District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, then there’s a good chance that you’re living under a rock.
The media was filled with several reports of the incident; how the Senator was declared suspended for 6-months, stripped of her benefits and security aides, and even walked out unceremoniously from the plenary session.
Although there are several legal and ethical dilemmas surrounding this case, we would only be addressing a few legal issues that we believe you should know about.
What happened?
It all started on Thursday, the 20th of February 2025, when Senator Natasha arrived at the Senate and discovered that her seat had been changed. The Senator objected to the change of seating position and proceeded to sit on her originally assigned position. For this reason, she was denied audience during the session and this led to a heated exchange between her and the Senate President.
These decisions of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal serve as precedents pointing to the fact that the Senate or any other Legislative Arm, lacks the power to suspend a Senator who was validly elected by his/her Constituents.
Shortly after this incident, the Senator, in a TV interview narrated how she had refused romantic advances made to her by the Senate President and she believed that the change in seating arrangements was an attempt to penalise her for refusing him.
This caused a lot of uproar in the media and subsequently, the Senate voted unanimously to refer Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Senate’s Committee on Ethics, Privilege and Public Petitions for disciplinary review, on the basis of the seating arrangement dispute.
The Court Order
In response, Senator Natasha filed an ex-parte application at the Federal High Court, praying the Court for an order to restrain the Senate and its Ethics committee from proceeding with the investigation against her.
The Court granted this order and it was to take effect from the time that it was granted up until when an interlocutory injunction would be heard. The matter was also adjourned to the 10th of March 2025.
The Ethics Committee’s Report
In spite of the Court’s order, the Ethics Committee went on to conduct their investigation. On Thursday 6th of March 2025, the Committee presented their findings before the Senate, in which they found the Senator guilty of breaching the standing orders of the Senate and they recommended a six-month suspension without pay, which would have been reduced if she tendered a formal apology to the Senate President for her outburst during the plenary session. As part of the suspension, her salary and security details were to be withdrawn, and her office locked.
The Senate unanimously adopted the recommendations but rejected the caveat concerning an apology. They agreed that an apology should only be entertained at the end of the six-month suspension.
The Senator was walked out of the session that day and the suspension was deemed to have taken effect.
Let’s consider some of the legal issues from this incident, shall we?
Disregard for Court orders
Disregarding an order of the Court amounts to contempt of court. It is an act of disrespect which may be punishable by imprisonment or a fine, as the Court may deem fit.
The order of a court is binding on those to whom it is directed, and it ought not to be disregarded or disrespected. In this instance, the Court gave an order that was violated by the Senate, which is somewhat appalling, considering that the Senate ought to uphold the law.
In light of this violation, the Committee’s investigation and the subsequent suspension of the Senator may be deemed null and void by the Court because it was done in disobedience of a subsisting court order.
This was the position of the Court in the case of Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt. 18) 621, where the Lagos State Government forcefully evicted Ojukwu despite a pending injunction. The Supreme Court held that an act done in defiance of a subsisting court order is a nullity. The court further emphasized that no party should take the law into their own hands when a court has made an order.
Validity of the Senator’s suspension
Some weeks back, we wrote to you about the constitutional procedure for the vacation of office by a legislator in Nigeria. In case you missed it, read up here.
This is the only legally recognised procedure for stripping an elected legislator of his/her office, albeit temporarily. It is provided for under Sections 50(2) and 92(2) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. The Court has agreed with this position in several instances, as there are a plethora of cases where the Court has declared the purported removal of a legislator to be unconstitutional and illegal.
In 2010, Honourable Dino Melaye and 10 other legislators were suspended for accusing the Dimeji Bankole-led House of Representative of wallowing in corruption. The Federal High Court declared the suspension of the legislators illegal and unconstitutional and ordered the payment of their withheld salaries and allowances.
In June 2012, Honourable Rifkatu Danna, the only female member of the 31-member Bauchi State House of Assembly, was suspended for allegedly making uncomplimentary remarks when she challenged the lawmakers’ decision to approve the relocation of the headquarters of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, but the Bauchi State High Court declared her suspension illegal and ordered the Bauchi State House of Assembly to reinstate her and pay her withheld salaries and allowances.
In 2017, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed against the judgment of the Bauchi State High Court in respect of the illegal suspension of Honourable Rifkatu Danna. The Court upheld her counsel’s submission to the effect that the suspension of the legislator constituted a breach of the right of the Bogoro Constituency to be represented by her in the State House of Assembly. The Court equally held that the decision of the House to withhold the salaries and allowances of the legislator was illegal as she was not an employee but an elected member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly.
In 2018, Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin, a member of the House of Representatives was suspended for 180 days for accusing the Yakubu Dogara-led House of padding the 2016 national budget. The Federal High Court nullified the suspension and ordered the payment of the withheld salaries and allowances of the legislator.
A possible way out for the Senate, to avoid the lengthy court case, could be to do what they have done very recently in a similar case. In March 2024, the same Godswill Akpabio-led Senate suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for 3 months for alleging that Nigeria’s 2024 budget was padded. The Senator’s lawyers wrote to the Senate to review the suspension, stating that the action was illegal. The Senate then recalled Senator Ningi and paid his withheld salaries and allowances.
Based on the decision of the Court in Honourable Rifkatu Danna’s case, the 2017 suspension of Senator Ali Ndume by the Bukola Saraki-led Senate was also annulled by the Federal High Court.
In the same vein, the 2020 suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Federal High Court.
Sometime in 2020, the Jigawa State House of Assembly suspended a lawmaker, Hon. Sani Iyaku, over alleged criticism of the state governor, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Badaru who was on a visit to Hadejia town for a wedding ceremony. Honourable Iyaku challenged his suspension in the Jigawa State High Court. The trial Judge declared the suspension illegal, inappropriate, null and void. The court also directed that the defendant be paid his three months allowances withheld, to the tune of 3 million Naira.
These decisions of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal serve as precedents pointing to the fact that the Senate or any other Legislative Arm, lacks the power to suspend a Senator who was validly elected by his/her Constituents.
A possible way out for the Senate, to avoid the lengthy court case, could be to do what they have done very recently in a similar case. In March 2024, the same Godswill Akpabio-led Senate suspended Senator Abdul Ningi for 3 months for alleging that Nigeria’s 2024 budget was padded. The Senator’s lawyers wrote to the Senate to review the suspension, stating that the action was illegal. The Senate then recalled Senator Ningi and paid his withheld salaries and allowances.
Failing that, we would have to watch the law take its course, and see how things play out in the courts.
We guess the saying rings true, that those who fail to learn from history would repeat it.
