“I will resume at the senate on Tuesday,” Natasha vows

Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has announced that she will resume her legislative duties in the Senate on Tuesday, following a court order directing her recall to the Red Chamber.

In a video shared on social media,  Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan thanked her supporters for standing with her and expressed her gratitude for their victory.

“I thank you for your support. I am glad we are victorious today. We shall resume in the Senate on Tuesday by the grace of God,” she said.

The development follows a judgment by a Federal High Court in Abuja, which declared her six-month suspension from the Senate as unconstitutional, excessive, and a violation of her constituents’ rights to representation.

Presiding judge , Justice Binta Nyako, held that  the suspension lacked constitutional backing and ordered Akpoti-Uduaghan’s immediate reinstatement.

But she also found the senator guilty of contempt for a Facebook post that was deemed to have breached a court order. Akpoti-Uduaghan was fined ₦5 million for the post.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended by the Senate in March after a controversy over sitting arrangements in the chamber. The suspension was further complicated by allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, which Akpoti-Uduaghan made during a live television interview.

In her verdict, Justice Nyako emphasised that the extended suspension of the senator was procedurally flawed and deprived the people of Kogi Central of their constitutional right to representation.

She also criticised the Senate’s disciplinary processes, urging the National Assembly to review its internal rules to conform with constitutional principles and ensure fair hearing.