Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has formally notified the National Assembly of her plan to resume plenary duties on July 22, 2025, citing the July 4 judgment of the Federal High Court which declared her suspension “excessive” and ordered her recall.
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In a letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, dated July 16 and signed by her counsel, Michael Jonathan Numa, SAN, Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted that the ruling in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025 is a binding directive and not subject to any further debate or interpretation by the Senate.
The court’s decision followed her suspension earlier in the year by the Senate, a move it has since described as “disciplinary” but which the court found to be unconstitutional and in breach of her fundamental rights.
However, in response to her earlier notice to resume on July 14, the Clerk of the National Assembly had claimed that the court’s judgment amounted to a “mere advisory,” prompting Akpoti-Uduaghan to reschedule her resumption date following Senate’s adjournment in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Challenging the Clerk’s interpretation, her legal team wrote:
“With utmost respect, we must disagree with your interpretation of the enrolled Judgment Order… We contest the view that the Court’s pronouncement… constitutes a mere advisory opinion rather than a binding directive requiring the Senate to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.”
The letter pointed to Order 12 of the judgment which states that “the Senate should recall the Plaintiff.” While acknowledging the use of “should” rather than “shall,” Numa argued that the judgment’s structure and context clearly convey a mandatory directive.
He further noted that the judgment incorporated multiple reliefs, including those specifically seeking to set aside the disciplinary measures taken by the Senate’s Ethics Committee during the pendency of the suit. He referenced Order 4 and Order 10, which respectively nullified the suspension and declared it inconsistent with Section 63 of the Constitution.
Relying on constitutional provisions and case law, including Ecobank (Nig) Ltd v. Tempo Energy (Nig) Ltd (2025) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1994) Pg. 125, the legal team asserted that a court’s recommendation, once issued following a fully contested hearing, qualifies as a binding judicial act.
“Accordingly, under Section 287(3) of the Constitution, the Senate is bound to enforce and give effect to the decision of the Court,” the letter stated.
Concluding, the legal team warned that any continued failure to comply would compel the Senator to seek further lawful enforcement actions:
“Our client reserves the right to pursue all lawful measures to enforce her rights should this demand continue to be disregarded and violated.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan has now formally confirmed her intention to resume her legislative duties on July 22, setting the stage for a potential confrontation between judicial authority and parliamentary interpretation.
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