The Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Tuesday, returned to the National Assembly after serving a six-month suspension imposed by the Senate earlier this year.

The lawmaker, who arrived at the chamber around 11:42 a.m., was warmly received by a few colleagues as plenary resumed following a 10-week recess. Senate President Godswill Akpabio presided over the session.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return drew public attention as she was accompanied by several activists and loyalists, including Bring Back Our Girls campaigner Aisha Yesufu, who was spotted in the Senate gallery. However, many of her supporters were reportedly denied access to the chamber.

The senator’s resumption marks the end of a suspension that stirred widespread controversy and debate. She had been suspended in March 2025 for alleged misconduct during her protest against the reassignment of her seat by Senate President Akpabio on February 20.

Following her suspension, her office—Suite 2.05 in the Senate Wing—was locked by security personnel on March 6. It was reopened in September by Deputy Director of the National Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms, Alabi Adedeji, ahead of her formal return to duty.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who had chaired the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs before her suspension, maintained that her punishment was politically motivated. Two weeks before her return, she accused Senate President Akpabio of acting like a “dictator” when she was granted access to her office.

Her reinstatement follows a Federal High Court judgment delivered in July by Justice Binta Nyako, who ruled that the six-month suspension was unconstitutional and excessive. The court ordered her immediate recall, emphasizing that suspending a lawmaker for such a long period deprived constituents of representation.

Despite the ruling, the Senate initially refused to comply, insisting that she must serve her full suspension. The Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamorudeen Ogunlana, through Acting Clerk Yahaya Danzaria, later notified her that the suspension would remain in effect pending the outcome of her appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Her counsel, Michael Jonathan Numa (SAN), subsequently issued a warning letter to the CNA on September 11, threatening contempt proceedings if the Senate failed to recall her by September 15.

In response, the CNA’s office clarified that it lacked authority to overturn Senate resolutions, stating that only the Senate itself could determine when she could resume.

In a statement signed by the Director of Information, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, the CNA’s office stressed that “the determination of whether Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan can resume her legislative duties as of right, following the expiration of her six-month suspension, lies solely with the Senate and not with the Clerk’s office.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return, coinciding with the resumption of plenary, signals a full restoration of legislative business in the Red Chamber after an extended recess.

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