Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the Senate recall the suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
While delivering its judgement, Justice Nyako described as excessive the six-month suspension imposed on the lawmaker by the Senate.
The judge also faulted the provision in Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Rules, as well as Section 14 of the Legislative Houses, Powers, and Privileges Act, declaring both to be overreaching.
The court also held that Senate President Godswill Akpabio has not erred by refusing to observe Senator Natasha, who had vacated the official seat allotted her during the plenary. The court asked her to apologise to the Senate.
Justice Nyako added that the two pieces of legislation failed to specify the maximum period that a serving lawmaker could be suspended from office.
According to the court, since lawmakers have a total of 181 days to sit in every legislative cycle, the six-month suspension handed to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was equivalent to pushing her away from her responsibilities to her constituents for approximately 180 days.
It held that though the Senate has the power to punish any of its members who err, such sanction must not be excessive to deprive the constituents of their right to be represented.
Justice Nyako equally dismissed Akpabio’s contention that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, which he said bordered on an internal affair of the Senate.
Earlier in the ruling, the court imposed a ₦5 million fine on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan for violating its order, which barred the parties from making public statements about the subject matter of the suit.
It further ordered her to publish an apology within seven days in two national dailies.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is also facing two separate cases of cybercrime and defamation in two separate courts in the nation’s capital.
