The Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions has thrown out Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition, saying the matter was already subject of litigation.
The petition was addressed by Mr Zubairu Yakubu, one of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s constituents.
Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi (APC – Ebonyi South) and a former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, had a clash over the handling of the sexual harassment allegations.
Dr Ezekwesili, a witness, had accompanied Yakubu, who appeared before the Senate Committee, to defend the petition.
A war of words broke out between Nwebonyi and the former minister, who complained bitterly about how the allegation was being handled by senators.
However, the Committee objected to sitting on the petition, in the light of a pending case filed against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan by Dr. Unoma Akpabio, wife of the Senate President.
Citing Senate Rules, Senator Imasuen clarified that the practice of the Senate was to desist from sitting over petitions on any matters pending before the court.
During the proceedings, tension rose as Nwebonyi described Dr Ezekwesili an ‘insult to womanhood’ and a ‘hooligan.’
The senator’s remarks followed the refusal of Dr Ezekwesili and other attendees to take an oath during the hearing.
While one of the senators insisted that either they take the oath or the committee would end the meeting, Dr Ezekwesili and her colleagues insisted on not taking the oath, during which Nwebonyi became apparently angry.
He said: “You are an insult to womanhood, hooligan. People like you are not supposed to be here, hooligan. You are an insult to womanhood.”
Ezekwesili, who later addressed reporters, lampooned the Senate for violating the Constitution, adding that the Senate Rule cited by the committee was not superior to the Constitution.
She said: “The Nigerian Senate keeps telling citizens they are subject to Senate rules, even when those rules violate the Constitution. This is unacceptable in a democracy.”
She further argued that the embattled Kogi Central lawmaker was denied fair hearing, insisting that it is in clear breach of provisions of the Constitution.
Dr Ezekwesili added: “The Senate placed its own rules above the laws of the land. Now, with this petitioner, they have done the same thing—using procedural loopholes to avoid addressing critical issues
“If a petitioner says they do not believe the Senate committee will give them a fair hearing due to clear bias, it is only just that an independent body reviews the matter.
“The Senate must respect the Constitution. Otherwise, we risk turning our democracy into a system where powerful individuals manipulate processes to silence opposition and suppress justice,” she said.
On the alleged bias by the Senate, the petitioner cited previous remarks attributed to the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Imasuen, where he described Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition as dead on arrival during a previous Committee sitting.
“How can the chairman serve as a judge in a case where he has already publicly taken a position? What is the need for us to present our case when a verdict has already been given before hearing us?,” he queried.
Yakubu expressed disappointment over the objection by the Committee to his request that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who has been suspended for six months by the Senate be allowed to testify before the panel as principal witness.
He said the suspended senator was in custody of a crucial documentary evidence to support her claims, lamenting that she had been barred from entering the National Assembly as part of her suspension.
Yakubu added: “In my petition, I clearly stated that my witness would present her evidence personally. But she was not allowed into the premises. If my key witness is denied access, how can I proceed with my case?”
Counsel to the petitioner, Dr. Abiola Akinyode also faulted the alleged inconsistencies in the Senate’s handling of the petitions.
She said: “There is nothing in Yakubu’s petition that was not in Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s original petition. If the Senate dismissed her petition as ‘dead on arrival,’ then logically, Yakubu’s should also be dismissed.”
“The Senate seems to be operating under its own rules, separate from the Constitution. That is why they can suspend a senator for six months without following due process,” Akinyode said.
She also faulted the defence by the Committee that it could not hear a petition on a subsisting case before a court of competent jurisdiction.
Akinyode said: “If they knew the case was in court, they should have simply written to the petitioner stating they could not entertain it. Instead, they invited him, only to dismiss the petition on the basis that it was already in court.”
