Olayiwola Matthew
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja ruled on Monday that the Nigerian Senate acted within its powers in suspending Kogi Central lawmaker, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
A three-member panel of Justices of the Appellate Court unanimously ruled that it was within the powers of the Senate to have suspended Uduaghan for misconduct.
The Court added that the Kogi lawmaker was unable to prove that parliamentary privilege or her constitutional rights were breached as a result of her suspension from the Senate.
However, it vacated the contempt proceeding and the N5 million fine that was awarded against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan over the satirical apology she made to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
More so, the appellate court, in its lead verdict that was delivered by Justice A. B. Muhammed, held that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was not wrong to have denied the Appellant, who was not on the official seat that was allotted to her during plenary on February 20, 2025, the opportunity to speak.
It held that the Senate President is empowered by the Rules to allocate seats to members, adding that lawmakers are only allowed to speak from seats allocated to them.